Capvision accused of abetting foreign spy services

Chinese state security authorities have launched an investigation into Capvision, a leading Chinese consulting firm, on charges that it induced Chinese experts in key fields, including the military and high technology, to provide intelligence to foreign intelligence forces, becoming complicit, the China Media Group reported.

According to a TV program aired on Monday, state security police found that a number of overseas organizations with complicated backgrounds that obscured their origin, have been attempting to steal state secrets and key intelligence by making use of domestic consulting companies, which have allegedly violated the law in pursuit of economic gain.

Founded in 2008, Capvision is a leading consulting company that in its own words, offers "rapid, accurate and efficient expert knowledge" to major financial institutions, consulting companies and multinational enterprises, according to its official website.

As stated on the Shanghai-headquartered firm's introduction, its main competitive advantage is that it provides clients with specialized industry knowledge via its network of 500,000 experts. Capvision also has offices in Hong Kong, New York, Malaysia and Singapore.

With more than 1,000 clients worldwide, and the majority of Capvision's business is expert consultation mainly conducted by phone, according a member of Shanghai's national security police, who was quoted in the television report.

Staff at the company said they were able to tap into such a large number of experts, professionals and scholars via public networking through avenues such as resumes and recommendations.

However, the report said that staff were in fact targeting influential experts in vital fields including domestic policy research, national defense, finance and currency, high technology, energy and resources, and medicine and health.

Experts agreeing to provide consultation had to sign contracts containing a disclaimer that required them to take responsibility for the issue of confidentiality, and to agree to bear any legal consequences of their consultation themselves.

Despite this, attracted by remuneration offered by Capvision, which they believed to be a regulated, law-abiding company, some experts let down their guards, and divulged sensitive information and even state secrets and intelligence in the course of providing foreign consulting services, the national security police in Shanghai said.

They stated that in addition, Capvision not only encouraged experts in key fields to disclose confidential information during consultations, but also failed to inform them of the real identity of clients in the name of privacy.

In pursuit of market share and profit, some consulting companies have ignored national security to scam experts and scholars in key and sensitive industries into giving away internal secrets, greatly harming China's industrial development and economic security, according to the TV report, adding that as a result, the firms have become complicit with foreign intelligence agencies in helping them spy, buy off experts and obtain state secrets and intelligence.