The chief of a prestigious US think tank has been taken into custody on charges of acting as a Chinese agent and engaging in illicit arms and oil transactions.

Gal Luft, a citizen of the US and Israel, is co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS). He is accused of recruiting and paying a former high-ranking US government official on behalf of principals based in China in 2016, without registering as a foreign agent as required by law.

Luft, 57, was arrested in February in Cyprus on U.S. charges, but fled after being released on bail while awaiting extradition, prosecutors said. He is not currently in U.S. custody. He was charged on Monday in absentia.

According to the allegations contained in the indictment, for years, Luft conspired with others in an effort to act within the United States to advance the interests of the People’s Republic of China (China) as agents of China-based principals, without registering as foreign agents as required under U.S. law.

Luft is also accused of brokering weapons deals with Chinese individuals and entities. As a broker, he connected buyers and sellers without a license, violating the Arms Export Control Act.

In an attempt to circumvent U.S. sanctions against Iran, Luft allegedly ordered subordinates to refer to a deal he was working on to acquire Iranian oil as a deal for Brazilian oil. Similar to his arms dealings with China, he sought buyers of oil and helped broker arrangements to purchase.

Announcing the charges, Damian Williams, US attorney for the southern district of New York, said Luft “engaged in multiple, serious criminal schemes.

“He subverted foreign agent registration laws in the United States to seek to promote Chinese policies by acting through a former high-ranking US government official; he acted as a broker in deals for dangerous weapons and Iranian oil; and he told multiple lies about his crimes to law enforcement.”

"As alleged, the defendant engaged in multiple schemes to evade sanctions and laws intended to protect our national security," Christie M. Curtis, FBI acting assistant director in charge, said in a statement. "The FBI is determined to defend our nation by enforcing laws designed to promote transparency of foreign influence within the United States."

Luft faces seven counts of conspiracy to violate energy sanctions with Iran and seven counts of violating the Arms Export Control Act, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He also faces charges for making false statements, conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act, and failing to register as a foreign agent, each carrying a five-year maximum prison sentence.

In a video published by the New York Post last week, Luft said that in 2019 he provided evidence to US Justice Department and FBI officials on what he said were Biden’s family financial transactions with the Chinese energy conglomerate CEFC.

"Gal is a man of total integrity and honesty," the think tank said in a statement on Tuesday. "We are confident in his innocence."

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