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U.S. charges Chinese wind company with stealing trade secrets

LOS ANGELES, June 27 | Thu Jun 27, 2013 6:56pm EDT

LOS ANGELES, June 27 (Reuters) - A Chinese wind turbine maker, Sinovel Wind Group Co. Ltd, was charged with stealing trade secrets from U.S. company AMSC, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday.

A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin leveled theft returned an indictment leveling theft charges on Sinovel, two of its employees, and a former employee of AMSC, a Devens, Massachusetts-based company that provided wind turbine design, engineering services and power electronics and controls to Sinovel. Authorities said the theft allegedly cost AMSC $800 million.

Sinovel officials were not immediately available for comment.

In a statement, AMSC called on President Barack Obama's administration and Congress to re-evaluate the U.S. trade relationship with China.

"These criminal acts have led to significant financial harm to AMSC, its employees and their families as well as its shareholders. Over the past two years, more than 500 staff members worldwide have lost their jobs following Sinovel's egregious and unlawful behavior," AMSC Chief Executive Daniel McGahn said.

Sinovel was once AMSC's biggest customer, accounting for about 80 percent of its sales.

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Comments (3)
Arkashan wrote:
It’s the pot calling the kettle black don’t you think ?

Jun 27, 2013 8:06pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
Ancalimon wrote:
Yes our Congress does need to re-evaluate our trade relationship with China. AMSC lost 800 million dollars.. add punitive damages 3x that amount for a total of 3.2 billion dollars in new tariffs to the Chinese Wind Turbine sector. Thats a good start. Now who is next?

Jun 27, 2013 9:15pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
MrEthiopian wrote:
How was the evidence obtained? Was the Skype transaction hacked and recorded by the NSA? if so, is that not also a crime? NSA told us it only investigates terrorism and this supposed crime is not terrorism.

What now, is my comment being recorded because I chose to use my constitutional right to free speech? Is my name now added to a terrorist watch list because I ask questions about my own government? When will it end?

Jun 27, 2013 9:40pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
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