US Sanctions Five Entities Over Trade Secret Theft
The State Department action follows a federal criminal case involving the theft of Google data.
Updated on Oct. 19, 2026 in Financial Crime
Live Poll
Do you support imposing strict sanctions on foreign entities accused of stealing American technological trade secrets?
The United States State Department has sanctioned five Chinese entities, including Shanghai Zhisuan Technology and MiraclePlus, for their roles in the theft of American trade secrets. These financial measures include mandatory asset freezes and a comprehensive ban on transactions with U.S. individuals.
Why it matters
The sanctions are intended to address the unauthorized acquisition of proprietary American technology by foreign firms. This action follows the criminal conviction of a former Google engineer who stole thousands of internal files.
A federal judge previously convicted Ding Linwei on 7 counts of trade secret theft, resulting in a sentence of 12 months minus one day and US$198,000 in restitution. The charges of economic espionage were dropped in August 2026.
The players
Ding Linwei
He is a former Google software engineer who was convicted of stealing intellectual property related to artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Shanghai Zhisuan Technology
This Chinese technology firm was sanctioned by the U.S. State Department for its involvement in the acquisition of stolen trade secrets.
MiraclePlus
This venture capital firm provided seed funding to Shanghai Zhisuan Technology in exchange for equity stake in the company.
The details
Former Google software engineer Ding Linwei was arrested by the FBI in March 2024 after he uploaded more than 1,000 files to a personal account between May 2022 and May 2023. Shanghai Zhisuan Technology allegedly sought to leverage this data, which concerned Google's TPU Superpod technology, after receiving seed funding from MiraclePlus.
Timeline
May 2019: Ding Linwei joined Google as a software engineer.
May 2022 to May 2023: Ding Linwei uploaded Google files to his account.
March 2024: The FBI arrested Ding Linwei.
August 2026: Judge Chhabria acquitted Ding Linwei of economic espionage charges.
September 1, 2026: Ding Linwei was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution.
Legal Context
The sanctions are authorized under the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act, which provides the framework for punishing entities involved in the theft of proprietary American technology. This action follows a recent string of federal prosecutions targeting the illicit transfer of intellectual property to foreign competitors.
These sanctions restrict the ability of the named Chinese entities to operate within the American financial system or conduct business with U.S. citizens. The move reflects broader federal efforts to protect domestic innovation by tightening security measures for sensitive high-tech information.
The takeaway
The case highlights the severe legal and financial consequences for individuals and firms involved in the theft of corporate intellectual property. Protecting proprietary research remains a top priority for U.S. authorities as they look to prevent the illicit transfer of advanced technological data.
Further reading
Learn more about how international regulations monitor illicit capital flows in the Financial Crime section.
Live Poll
Do you support imposing strict sanctions on foreign entities accused of stealing American technological trade secrets?
