A former aide to German far-right lawmaker Maximilian Krah in the European Parliament has been sentenced to four years and nine months in prison for espionage on behalf of China.
The Dresden court found Jian Guo, a German national, guilty of acting as an agent for a Chinese intelligence service during his time as a Brussels-based staffer for Krah, a member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), between 2019 and 2024.
Prosecutors revealed that Guo had been working for Chinese intelligence since 2002 and exploited his position in Krah’s office to collect sensitive information on European affairs and the AfD.
An accomplice, identified only as Yaqi X., received a suspended sentence of one year and nine months after admitting she passed information to Guo. She had worked at a logistics firm serving Leipzig Airport and provided details on military flights, cargo movements, and deployments of planes, drones, and troops—including those destined for Israel.
Authorities also accused Guo of being Yaqi X.’s handler.
Krah, who now sits in the German Bundestag, testified earlier this month that he had no knowledge of Guo’s alleged activities and said he had hired him for his language skills and business experience. Krah himself is facing a separate investigation into alleged money laundering and bribery linked to Chinese sources during his tenure as an MEP.
