Belgian prosecutors reveal semiconductor espionage probe into bankrupt chipmaker Belgan

Airport arrest and criminal allegations

Belgian federal prosecutors confirmed on 7 September 2026 that a 52-year-old dual Belgian-Chinese citizen has been detained on suspicion of semiconductor espionage. The suspect, born in Beijing in 1974 and residing in Leuven, was intercepted on 10 May 2026 at Brussels-Zaventem airport while attempting to board a flight to Beijing. A magistrate placed him under a formal arrest warrant the following day, transferring him to pre-trial detention in the prison of Oudenaarde. The Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office is pursuing charges that include espionage, participation in a criminal organization, misuse of corporate assets, illicit disclosure of trade secrets, and bankruptcy violations. Judicial authorities confirmed that police conducted multiple property searches, seizing electronic communications and data storage devices for forensic inspection.

Corporate ties to Fujian competitor

The suspect held a high-level scientific research position at Belgan, an Oudenaarde-based chip manufacturer, where professional records indicated he had worked since August 2022. Belgian investigators suspect that shortly after joining Belgan, he took on a parallel role as an executive at GaNkool, an identical chipmaker established in China's Fujian province. Public communications from the Fuzhou New Area administration show that in March 2023, the suspect appeared as keynote speaker and chief technical officer for GaNkool at a conference on third-generation semiconductors. He appeared alongside Alan Zhen Zhou, the managing director of Belgan's factory in the Flemish Ardennes. Zhou is identified as the second suspect in the judicial inquiry and remains at large.

Certain elements indicate that the person concerned, who held a senior research position within the Belgian company, was simultaneously working as an executive of a Chinese company engaged in similar production activity, created a few months after he took office and funded by a Chinese investment fund.

Strategic value of gallium nitride

The criminal investigation focuses on the alleged unauthorized transfer of specialized intellectual property regarding gallium nitride semiconductors. Gallium nitride represents a critical technology utilized across commercial and defense applications, specifically in electric vehicles, aeronautics, aerospace systems, and military hardware. Investigators are reviewing whether the 2021 acquisition of Belgan by Chinese investors was arranged specifically to extract and siphon technical know-how to China rather than sustain European commercial production.

The investigation could highlight the illicit transfer abroad of specialized intellectual property and trade secrets relating to the production of gallium nitride chips, a technology that notably finds applications in the electric vehicle, aeronautics, and aerospace sectors, as well as in the military domain.

Bankruptcy and economic fallout

Belgan ceased operations and was declared bankrupt on 31 July 2024, resulting in the dismissal of more than 400 employees at its East Flanders plant. Investigators are examining whether assets and proprietary blueprints were systematically removed in the months preceding the commercial insolvency. The suspect remains in pre-trial custody awaiting trial while investigators continue efforts to locate Zhou. The Chinese embassy in Belgium did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the proceedings.