Allied Intelligence — 2026-09-09

Belgium Detains Dual Chinese-Belgian National in Semiconductor Espionage Case

BLUFBelgium's BELGAN case exposes how Chinese-financed acquisition of distressed semiconductor firms enables sustained IP extraction, and capture of the second suspect within six months is very unlikely given the elapsed time since the May arrest.

Belgium's Federal Prosecutor's Office announced that a 52-year-old dual Chinese-Belgian national has been in pretrial detention since May on suspicion of espionage, participation in a criminal organization, misuse of company assets and unlawful disclosure of trade secrets 12. Prosecutors said the suspect was detained at Zaventem airport on May 10 as he prepared to board a flight to Beijing 2. He held a senior research position at BELGAN, an Oudenaarde-based gallium nitride chip manufacturer that went bankrupt in 2024 with the loss of 400 jobs, while simultaneously serving as a director of Gankool, a Fujian-based Chinese chipmaker producing identical gallium nitride technology that was established shortly after a Chinese investor consortium acquired BELGAN in February 2022 12. Prosecutors said the probe may point to unlawful transfer abroad of intellectual property and trade secrets tied to gallium nitride chip production, technology used in electric vehicles, aerospace and military applications, and confirmed to Euronews that a second suspect, identified by Belgian broadcaster RTBF and daily De Standaard as Alan Zhen Zhou, BELGAN's last CEO, remains at large following searches that yielded seized data storage devices 1. According to RTBF, the detained man denies the charges 1.

Analysis
Capture of the second suspect within the next six months is very unlikely, since the individual has had four months since the May arrest to relocate beyond Belgian or EU jurisdiction toward China or another non-extradition venue. We hold low confidence in this judgment, reflecting reliance on a single prosecutorial statement without independent visibility into the suspect's location or any cross-border coordination underway. The case shows how a distressed Belgian chipmaker's Chinese-financed acquisition and bankruptcy provided cover for sustained transfer of gallium nitride IP, a pattern evident wherever similar investment structures precede insolvency in strategic semiconductor firms. Belgian authorities' delayed disclosure of the May detention also signals prosecutors prioritized evidence preservation over public deterrence.

4 sources

Belgian prosecutors detain former researcher and probe alleged Chinese espionage at bankrupt chipmaker - Euronews
Un ancien cadre de Belgan soupçonné d'espionnage au profit de la Chine - La DH/Les Sports+
Belgium Detains Dual Chinese-Belgian National in Semiconductor Espionage Case - Vision Times
Topman van (intussen failliete) chipfabrikant uit Oudenaarde in de cel voor spionage voor China - VRT NWS (citing Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office press release)