Chinese Hacker Arrested in Italy on U.S. Extradition Warrant

A 33-year-old Chinese man was arrested on July 3 at Milan Malpensa airport, where he had just arrived, under a warrant issued by U.S. authorities in an FBI investigation. He is accused of being part of a hacking team that conducted espionage operations, particularly in 2020 targeting COVID-19 vaccines under development at the University of Texas, CE Report quotes ANSA.

The man, defended by lawyer Enrico Giarda, has a hearing scheduled for tomorrow at the Milan Court of Appeal regarding the U.S. extradition request.

According to his family, the 33-year-old is a mere technician at an IT company.

His wife reported that Xu Zewei, 33, living in Shanghai, is a technician at an IT firm and had come to Italy for a holiday. On July 4, Judge Veronica Tallarida of Milan’s Fifth Criminal Appeal Court validated the arrest and ordered pre-trial detention (he is currently held in Busto Arsizio, near Varese). The U.S. warrant was executed by police at Malpensa the day before around 11 a.m. The 33-year-old was internationally wanted under a warrant issued November 2, 2023, by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

He is accused by the U.S. of cyber fraud and aggravated identity theft (max 5 years), criminal association for cyber fraud (max 20 years), unauthorized access to protected computers (max 5 years), and aggravated identity theft (max 2 years). According to Milan’s judge, the Interior Ministry reported that the U.S. authority issued the warrant based on an FBI investigation which revealed that Xu Zewei, along with other Chinese nationals, was part of a criminal association aimed at stealing information by unauthorized computer access, including from universities and scientific research centers in the U.S. and elsewhere.

The FBI alleges these cyber intrusions were carried out on behalf of Chinese government authorities. Xu’s phone was also seized for evidence. The judge cited a "concrete flight risk," noting the man had just arrived from Shanghai and has no ties to Italy. The hearing tomorrow will focus on his personal identification and potential consent to extradition. The legal process could last several weeks.