WEST MIDLANDS — Dr David Wilson, the West Midlands regional coordinator for the national Organised Immigration Crime Domestic Taskforce, reported receiving targeted approaches via LinkedIn and phone after publishing a Home Office-sponsored report on Chinese organised crime in the UK. The analysis in the Home Office report was declassified in February.
Wilson said he had been warned by former Hong Kong police officers that he would be targeted with honey traps or bribes by the Chinese state and organised crime. He attributed the approaches directed at him to China's United Front Work Department, which he said seeks to suppress political dissent and influence opinion abroad. He further stated that the multiple attempts to compromise him appeared to be centrally directed rather than isolated incidents.
"Within about two weeks of getting this warning, I receive this phone call. It was someone who I loosely knew. It was an ex-Chinese citizen who was a naturalised British citizen." he said. He said the caller, a former British police officer, suggested meeting at a specific Chinese restaurant, which he recognised and declined. He added that the caller claimed to have people who could help him but declined to identify them.
In addition to the phone call, he reported receiving approximately 20 to 25 LinkedIn connection requests from accounts with empty profiles featuring photographs of women. He stated that in his 10 years on LinkedIn, he had not received such contact prior to his research. A man identifying himself as a businessman contacted him on LinkedIn, claiming ties to the Chinese government and offering assistance with the research. He said he told the businessman that his loyalty was to the UK government and subsequently reported the profile to authorities.
The report was based on interviews with officials from 14 UK law enforcement agencies. The report detailed connections between senior members of organised criminal groups and individuals at the Chinese consulate. It also detailed the exploitation of Chinese students by criminal gangs and the Chinese Communist Party. He said Chinese organised crime networks operate with a low profile, avoiding street violence and refraining from smuggling people on small boats across the English Channel. A bulletin from the UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand previously outlined an online strategy where Chinese military intelligence operatives pose as representatives of private businesses or think tanks on LinkedIn.
No independent assessment of Dr David Wilson’s claims was available.