French Investigate Chinese, Locals Over Chip-Spying Allegations

France opened investigations into a cadre of French and Chinese citizens on suspicion of corporate espionage to do with critical semiconductor technology, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

French publication Le Parisien first reported that prosecutors have indicted executives at Ommic SAS, a Paris-based semiconductor manufacturer, for allegedly giving up French technology to foreign entities illegally, including China and Russia.

Ommic produces gallium nitride chips, which can be used in an array of technological applications. The chips are able to operate at much higher frequency and temperature than other semiconductors, making them valuable in weapons manufacturing.

Ommic’s clients include the European Space Agency. The company was acquired by US-based Macom Technology Holdings in May for $42.8 million. But Le Parisien reported that French investigators have now discovered a trail $13.2 million-worth of suspected illegal technology exports linked to the company.

Ommic’s French executives personally delivered chips to Russian buyers, the officials found, and used forged paperwork for shipments to Chinese military arms and weapons manufacturers, according to the report.

French magistrates have filed preliminary charges against both French and Chinese nationals over the alleged illegal exports, forgery and other alleged crimes, ABC News reported, citing an anonymous source.

“When the government calls out and warns about the risk of industrial espionage, it’s not like playing James Bond,” France’s industry minister Roland Lescure told Sud Radio, a domestic media company, on Thursday. “Economic war exists and France has the means to win it.”

News of the probe comes immediately before France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire is due to travel to China to meet his Chinese counterpart and business leaders, a meeting seen as an attempt to woo Chinese investors back to Paris.

The European Union and the US government have previously accused the Chinese government and some businesses of corporate espionage to do with semiconductor chip technology essential to consumer technologies, heavy industry, weapons making, automotives, and more.

July 27, 2023