Gal Luft, the chief of a U.S. assume tank, has been charged with appearing as an unregistered agent of China and in search of to dealer the sale of Iranian oil, federal prosecutors in Manhattan mentioned on Monday.
Luft, a citizen of the United States and Israel, is accused of recruiting and paying a former high-ranking U.S. authorities official on behalf of principals primarily based in China in 2016.
Prosecutors didn’t establish the previous official, however mentioned he was working as an adviser to the then-president elect Donald Trump on the time.
A Twitter account bearing Luft’s title, with greater than 15,000 followers, mentioned in a Feb. 18 tweet that he had been arrested in Cyprus “on a politically motivated extradition request by the U.S.”
“I’ve never been an arms dealer,” Luft mentioned within the tweet. He didn’t instantly reply to a direct message despatched by Reuters.
Luft was arrested in February in Cyprus on U.S. fees, however fled after being launched on bail whereas awaiting extradition, prosecutors mentioned. He couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.
Luft is co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, which describes itself as a assume tank targeted on vitality, safety and financial traits.
The assume tank didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Source: www.anews.com.tr
