Belgian authorities have detained Canadian national Biwei Zhang, a NATO intern assigned to SHAPE, on suspicion of spying for a foreign country and participating in a criminal organization.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Belgian prosecutors have arrested a Canadian intern working at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe on suspicion of espionage, with subsequent reporting identifying the suspect as Chinese-born Canadian national Biwei Zhang.
The Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office said the investigation began after NATO security personnel raised concerns about the woman’s behavior, including the amount of time she was spending in sensitive areas and the number of questions she was asking.
Zhang was working as an intern at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, known as SHAPE, in Mons, Belgium. SHAPE is responsible for planning and executing NATO operations.
“She is suspected of spying on behalf of a third country and of being a member of a criminal organization,” Belgian prosecutors said in a statement released Saturday.
Authorities searched both Zhang’s residence and her workspace in SHAPE’s information technology department when she was taken into custody. Prosecutors extended her pretrial detention for another month on Tuesday, and Zhang immediately appealed that decision.
An X post also circulated information about the case as questions grew over the suspect’s background and security vetting.
CBC News identified the suspect Wednesday as Biwei Zhang, a systems engineer who previously worked for the Canadian Space Agency and Statistics Canada. She has also used the names Claire Zhang and Catina Zhang.
CBC reported that Zhang’s personal and professional history matched the limited details released by Belgian authorities, as did information contained in her Facebook and LinkedIn posts. A group of European news organizations independently reached the same conclusion regarding her identity.
Zhang is believed to be 32 or 33 and earned a master’s degree from the University of Ottawa in 2022. She reportedly worked as an economist at Statistics Canada between 2018 and 2022 before becoming a systems engineer with the Canadian Space Agency in May 2022.
Her employment history also includes work as a policy analyst for the European Space Agency and as a researcher with the World Trade Organization.
Authorities in Belgium, Canada and NATO have released few specifics about the evidence underlying the espionage allegations. Beyond descriptions of the behavior that prompted NATO security personnel to raise concerns, SHAPE has said the suspected activity did not affect operational readiness.
The arrest has nevertheless prompted questions about how Zhang was screened for access to sensitive institutions and which government was responsible for conducting security checks.
The European Space Agency told Reuters on Thursday that Zhang’s work there did not require a security clearance, although she underwent “standard human resources screening procedures.” The World Trade Organization declined to comment on her employment history.
NATO officials said responsibility for issuing security clearances rests with the member country providing the individual, which in Zhang’s case would be Canada.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Monday that Canada would review its national screening procedures to “get to the bottom of what happened.”
Zhang’s employment history also contained a previous finding involving a federal job application.
According to CBC News, Canada’s Public Service Commission determined in 2023 that Zhang “committed fraud in an application for a position at the Canada Border Services Agency by applying under two different names and emails and failing to later clarify whether she had submitted multiple applications.”
Canada’s Globe and Mail reported that Zhang “submitted applications from two e-mail addresses, one from York University and the other from the University of Montreal and twice wrote the same standardized exams in an effort, the commission found, ‘to increase her chances of being appointed.’”
Zhang challenged that finding by requesting a judicial review in February 2024, but a federal court judge dismissed the case.
Former Canadian national security adviser Jody Thomas said the arrest would likely trigger substantial concern within the Canadian government as officials examine how Zhang obtained positions involving sensitive institutions.
“I think the concern level would be very high in government. Everybody wants to know what happened. There are a lot of questions to be asked,” Thomas told the Globe and Mail.
Belgian prosecutors have not publicly identified the foreign government Zhang is accused of assisting, though media investigations have reported that authorities suspect she was spying for China.
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