The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced on Monday that it was charging Gal Luft, the co-director of a US think tank, with acting as an unregistered agent of China, arms trafficking and sanctions violations. Luft was previously arrested in Cyprus in February.

“As alleged, the defendant engaged in multiple schemes to evade sanctions and laws intended to protect our national security,” said FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Christie Curtis. “The FBI is determined to defend our nation by enforcing laws designed to promote transparency of foreign influence within the United States.”

The unsealed indictment accuses Luft of violating a number of federal laws. Authorities allege that Luft violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act by acting as unregistered agent of China. The indictment claims that Luft paid an unnamed former high-ranking US government official to promote Chinese interests in US policymaking, particularly around energy issues. These payments continued into 2016, when the official was an advisor to then-President-elect Donald Trump. As part of these efforts, Luft worked with a Chinese national to publish a “dialogue” in Chinese media publicizing pro-China talking points from the unnamed official. After the 2016 election, Luft and his Chinese counterpart discussed possible positions for the official in the Trump administration and ways to promote Chinese interests.

In addition to promoting Chinese policy interests, Luft is accused of brokering illicit arms deals between Chinese companies and countries like Libya, the United Arab Emirates, and Kenya in violation of the Arms Export Control Act. These transactions included the sale of grenade launchers, mortar rounds, aerial bombs, rockets and other weapons materials. Arms deals are not the only thing Luft is accused of brokering; the indictment also includes charges that Luft served as a middleman for Iranian oil deals that sought to evade US sanctions.

Luft currently serves as the co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS). One of IAGS’s major projects is the US Energy Security Council (USESC), which was co-founded by Reagan-era National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane and former Director of Central Intelligence James Woolsey. USESC’s members include numerous former high-ranking officials, including former Secretary of Defense Harold Brown, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan, former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge and many others. IAGS and USESC have their own connections to China, including the Global Forum on Energy Security, a joint effort with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences hosted in Beijing.

On a fundraising page posted to his Twitter account, Luft called the charges a “witch hunt.” He claims that he previously provided information to the FBI and US Department of Justice (DOJ) about alleged corruption on the part of President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, and he believes that these recent charges are the DOJ’s attempt to “shoot the messenger.” Republican members of Congress had indicated that they wish to investigate these claims, with Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability James Comer (R-KY) calling Luft a “credible witness.”

The charges against Luft come soon after other efforts by US authorities to curtail alleged extralegal activities, particularly from China. In June, a former New York police sergeant was convicted of acting as an illegal agent of China, and in May, the DOJ announced five criminal cases over attempts to steal US technology.