Accused of espionage, Biwei Zhang's Canadian government work history stretches back to 2017 — and HR provider caught alleged fraud
The Canadian woman arrested by Belgian authorities on espionage charges while working as an intern at NATO's military headquarters had a more extensive footprint in the federal government than previously known, with employment records filed in court documenting stints at four federal departments over several years — and a prior finding of civil service fraud.
Biwei Zhang, 33, who has also used the English name Claire Zhang, was arrested in Mons, Belgium, where she was working at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), the military headquarters of NATO. Belgian prosecutors have not publicly named the country she allegedly spied for, but two Canadian national-security sources previously told the Globe & Mail that she is accused of having worked for China.
The allegations have not been proven in court. Zhang is currently being held in custody.
Wider federal trail for NATO intern
Court documents filed by Zhang in the Federal Court of Canada and obtained by the Globe & Mail show her Canadian government work history dates to 2017 and included positions at the National Research Council, Statistics Canada, and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), in addition to the Canada Border Services Agency posting that became the subject of a fraud finding.
In a 2017 summer placement, Zhang said in the filings, she worked as a junior data scientist at the National Research Council, where part of her work involved analyzing ship movements in the port of Montreal, according to the Globe & Mail. The following year, she worked for Statistics Canada's agricultural division before moving to ESDC in early 2019 to do data analysis for programs including Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan.
Zhang also listed volunteering experience in her job applications, including work for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and for an "election campaign for Liberal Party of Canada," which she did not specify. The federal Liberal Party said in a statement that it had "no record of the individual in question holding any formal campaign role," as the Globe & Mail reported.
Finding of fraud — and a rehire
The court documents were filed by Zhang when she appealed a ruling that she had committed fraud within the civil service. According to the Globe & Mail, she applied twice for a permanent CBSA position paying up to $94,000 a year, submitting two applications under slightly different versions of her name using different email addresses.
She then wrote the required civil service examination on consecutive days in March 2019 — despite federal rules prohibiting candidates from writing the same test twice within 180 days.
A third-party human resources provider flagged the dual applications in 2019, triggering an investigation by the Public Service Commission. In 2023, the commission found that while Zhang had not acted dishonestly in submitting two applications, she had committed fraud by sitting for the examination twice and failing to disclose that fact when "asked directly" by the border agency, the Globe & Mail reported. A Federal Court judge upheld that ruling on appeal in 2024. Zhang never worked for the CBSA.
What the records also show, however, is that Zhang was rehired by Statistics Canada in May 2020 — while the Public Service Commission investigation was still ongoing — through an external non-advertised appointment, and worked there for a year, according to the Globe & Mail.
CBC News reported that Zhang's online resumé indicates she later worked at the European Space Agency in Italy in 2022, and subsequently as a systems engineer at the Canadian Space Agency in Quebec, before obtaining the NATO posting in Belgium.
Carney says Canada involved 'from the start'
Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the case publicly for the first time Wednesday at a news conference in Toronto. Asked whether Canada's security screening processes need reform in light of the allegations, Carney was measured but pointed.
"Any time you have a situation, you should take, you take stock and take lessons from this," he said, according to the Globe & Mail.
"The only thing I would add cryptically is that Canadian officials have been involved from the start. Draw your own conclusions."
Carney did not elaborate, but CBC News noted that the RCMP is on record as co-operating with Belgian authorities. A senior government source told the Globe & Mail that the prime minister was referring to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, which has been keeping him updated.
