Former public servant accused in foreign interference case involving China

Former public servant accused in foreign interference case involving China

Dennis Lu, retired from Natural Resources Canada, charged with breach of trust, unauthorized use of a computer

A former federal scientist in an alleged foreign interference case is accused of copying more than 2,000 documents off a shared departmental server to share with China as his lifelong career was nearing its end, CBC News has learned.

Dennis Lu faces trial in Ottawa next year. He researched clean energy with Natural Resource Canada’s Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology for decades, specializing in carbon capture and decarbonization. He was fired during the week of his scheduled retirement in August 2023.

The 65-year-old is charged under the Criminal Code with two counts of unauthorized use of a computer and one count of breach of trust relating to his federal duties.

The alleged breach dates from the day Lu began a leave of absence to travel to Taiwan and China in 2023 to the date of his arrest in 2024. He had recently returned to Canada after living in China for about a year following his departure from Natural Resources Canada.

Courthouse records prepared by the Crown and defence, obtained by CBC News, show there is no evidence of Lu actually sharing the documents he downloaded.

Instead the Crown alleges that Lu's devices, seized during the execution of a search warrant at his Ottawa home, contain evidence of questionable affiliations and employment with Chinese companies, universities and academics against Natural Resources Canada’s internal rules — and that Lu intended to share the documents with China, the records state.

The allegations against Lu are unproven.

CSIS briefed Lu's employer about him

The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) briefed Natural Resources Canada about Lu at least three times between 2000 and 2021, the court records show.

The last CSIS briefing was made to Natural Resources Canada's chief of security in February 2021. That prompted an internal investigation in January 2023 to monitor, search and seize information from Lu's computer using "specific word phrases" to see if any of Lu's conduct was "actionable" and to "determine the credibility of the CSIS flags," the records state.

In February 2023 Lu took a leave of absence to travel and the following month he told his manager that he intended to retire in August that year, according to the records.

It's alleged that Lu sent nearly 2,000 emails from his work email account to his personal email account while he was in China, the records state.

Natural Resources Canada cut Lu's access to his work email and its servers in early June 2023, and when Lu returned to Canada at the end of that month, he asked about it. A manager ordered Lu's access reinstated so his retirement could be processed.

Arrested, charged by Ottawa INSET

On July 7, 2023, Lu allegedly copied 2,414 documents from a Natural Resources Canada shared server onto a device, and on Aug. 9, 2023, a further 188 documents from the shared drive onto a separate device.

Natural Resource Canada officials interviewed Lu about the copied documents on Aug. 17, 2023. That same day, the department told the RCMP about the findings of its internal investigation into Lu, the records state.

A year later, he was arrested and charged by members of Ottawa INSET, an RCMP-led team of law enforcement and intelligence partners that handles threats to national security. He had just returned to Ottawa after spending his first year of retirement living in China.

Lu was released from custody after he and a surety promised to pay $10,000 each if Lu leaves Ontario, applies for a passport or any other travel permits or documents, or violates any other release conditions.

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Lu had expectation of privacy at work: defence

Arguments and allegations that defence lawyers Reem Zaia and Michael Nesbitt are making include the following:

Arguments and allegations made by assistant Crown attorney Tim Radcliffe include:

Lu's jury trial in Ottawa's Superior Court is scheduled for January.

CBC Ottawa senior writer Kristy Nease has covered news in the capital for 17 years, and previously worked at the Ottawa Citizen. She has handled topics including intimate partner violence and climate, and is currently focused on the courts and judicial affairs for all platforms. Get in touch: kristy.nease@cbc.ca, or 613-288-6435. Worried about your security? Find me on Signal — kristyneasecbc.613 — and send me a message.