MILAN – The Italian government has decided to extradite a Chinese man wanted by the US authorities on hacking charges that include stealing COVID-19 medical research, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The government’s decision, which was first reported by Bloomberg, follows a ruling by an Italian court earlier in April which said Xu Zewei could be extradited.
A representative for Italy’s government declined to comment. Xu’s lawyer Enrico Giarda told Reuters that his client had not received any communications on the matter so far.
Xu was arrested in Milan on July 3 at the request of the US authorities, who have accused him of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for his alleged role in computer piracy acts that took place between February 2020 and June 2021.
Following his arrest, Xu’s lawyer said his client had been a victim of mistaken identity.
The US Justice Department (DOJ) alleges that Xu has been hacking and stealing crucial COVID-19 research at the behest of the Chinese government.
The DOJ has said that Xu was part of a team of cyber experts who in 2020 targeted US-based universities, immunologists, and virologists conducting research into COVID-19 vaccines, treatment, and testing.
The DOJ also alleges that in 2021, Xu was part of a cyber-espionage group known as Hafnium, which infiltrated thousands of computers worldwide, including in the US.
