Head of US think tank to be extradited on China agent charges

By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The leader of a U.S. think tank who was indicted last year on charges of acting as an unregistered agent of China has been arrested and will be extradited in the coming weeks or months, prosecutors said on Monday.

In July 2023, federal prosecutors in Manhattan accused Gal Luft of paying a former high-ranking U.S. government official on behalf of principals based in China in 2016, as well as seeking to broker the sale of weapons and Iranian oil.

Luft, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, was arrested in Cyprus last February but fled while released on bail, prosecutors said in a court filing. He has since been re-arrested, prosecutors said, without specifying when or where.

THE RESPONSE

Luft, the co-director of the Washington-based Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, said in posts on X last year that he had never been an arms dealer and that the charges were "politically motivated."

The Institute for the Analysis of Global Security describes itself as a think tank focused on energy, security and economic trends. The group last year said it was convinced of Luft's innocence.

Neither Luft nor the Institute immediately responded to requests for comment on Monday.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The U.S. Justice Department is cracking down on alleged agents of adversaries like Russia and China.

Last week, federal prosecutors charged two employees of Russian state media network RT with scheming to influence the 2024 election. They also charged a former New York state government employee with promoting China's interests.

Congressional Republicans have touted Luft as a potentially useful source in their investigation into alleged corruption by Democratic President Joe Biden. The White House has dismissed the Republican inquiry as unsubstantiated.

WHAT'S NEXT

Once Luft is extradited, he will appear in Manhattan federal court and be asked to enter a plea.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)