Kanishka Sharma

WASHINGTON (Reuters), A Chinese national sentenced to 29 Months Prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal trade secrets from an agricultural firm in January. Monsanto (NYSE:) Thursday’s announcement by the U.S. Justice Department was made in favor of the Chinese government.

Xiang Haitao (44), who worked for Monsanto as a subsidiary between 2008 and 2017, pleaded guilty at Missouri federal court to one count each of economic espionage conspiracy.

He was sentenced on Thursday to 29 months prison, followed by three year of supervised release, and a $150,000 fine.

Matthew Olsen, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Security Division stated that “Xiang colluded to steal a trade secret in order to gain an unfair advantage himself and for the PRC [People’s Republic of China]”,

“Economic espionage is a serious offense that can threaten U.S. companies’ competitive advantage, and the National Security Division is committed to holding accountable anyone who steals trade secrets to benefit a foreign government,” Olsen said.

Federal authorities discovered that Xiang had copies of a Monsanto-developed predictive algorithm while he waited to board a plane to China in June 2017.

He was permitted to fly to China to work for the Chinese Academy of Science’s Institute of Soil Science. According to Justice Department, he was detained upon returning to America in November 2019.

Monsanto acquired by Bayer AG 2018 (DE:).