金色农华老总被指控在美国偷种
金色农华老总被指控在美国偷种
英文版原文: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-12-13/chinese-company-worker-accused-of-stealing-seed
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据12月14日报道 美国检察机构12日说，中国一家企业集团下的一家玉米种业公司的董事长及其他5名中国男职员被控密谋从两家种业大开发商那里窃取注册了专利权的玉米种。
据美联社12月12日报道，美国检察官尼古拉斯。克兰费尔特说，一名叫莫海龙（音）、也叫罗伯特。莫的男子11日在其居住地迈阿密被捕。莫海龙被控密谋窃取商业机密。克兰费尔特说，联邦当局正在搜寻被控的其他5人。
报道称，法庭记录文件读起来像是一本间谍小说，其中有人发现中国男子在美国中西部的玉米地里跪地匍匐前进，偷取玉米穗。而获得法院许可的联邦特工窃听了手机，并在金色农华种业公司的董事长租来的汽车上安装窃听器。该公司是总部设在北京的大北农集团的子公司。
当这些人在中西部农村周围开车转悠、在玉米地附近停车并从艾奥瓦和迈阿密的交易商那里购买成袋种子的时候，联邦调查局还在其车上安装了GPS跟踪设备，并对他们进行跟踪。
其他遭到指控的人还包括金色农华种业公司的董事长李绍铭（音）及职员汪磊（音）、叶建（音）和林勇（音）。他们都生活在中国，而中国与美国之间没有引渡协议。居住在加拿大的王宏伟（音）也受到指控。
法庭文件宣称，这些人被看到从先锋杂交公司和孟山都公司所拥有的、含有极为珍贵的种子的试验田中窃取玉米，将种子藏到得梅因附近的仓库，并最终将其带到位于伊利诺伊州蒙尼的农场。联邦调查局说，该农场于2012年3月被金色农华种业公司买下。
2012年9月30日，在叶建和李绍铭准备从芝加哥飞往中国时，联邦调查局跟踪了他们。美国海关对其进行了搜查，并在其行李中发现了玉米种子。叶建将种子藏在其衣服口袋里的纸巾中。
汪磊飞到佛蒙特州的伯灵顿，租了一辆车以开往加拿大。联邦调查局通知了边境特工，并找到了他。据法院文件，44袋玉米种被藏在汽车座椅下及其行李中。
"美国联邦调查局人员像间谍小说中的特工一样，跟踪在美国中西部玉米地里爬行并偷窃玉米穗的中国男子".美联社13日报道称，当地时间12日，美国艾奥 瓦州的检察官称6名中国公民被指控涉嫌窃取美国玉米种子机密，其中包括一名中国种子公司的负责人。目前已有1人被逮捕。
英国路透社的报道称，美国联邦调查局（FBI）对此案的调查始于2011年。当时，FBI特工发现，3名中国男子出现在中西部州一个农场玉米试验地里， 他们摘取具有极高价值的玉米专利种子，然后将其藏在附近某个地方，并最终将其带至伊利诺伊州莫内的一处农场。FBI称，这个农场由北京一家种业科技公司买 下。
此后，事件的发展就像一部间谍小说一般。美联社报道称，FBI特工曾向法庭申请许可，对上述种业科技公司负责人所使用的手机以及租赁的汽车进行窃听。而且，FBI还在这些中国男子租赁的汽车里安装了全球卫星定位跟踪系统。FBI特工称他们掌握了大量证据。
艾奥瓦州检方称，美国当局在迈阿密逮捕了这家中国种子公司的一名中国籍员工，他被控盗窃商业机密。美联社说，同时被控的还有该公司其他几名雇员，这些人都住在中国，而中美两国之间没有引渡协议。
另据路透社报道，中国12月10日再次阻止了运载美国玉米的货轮入关，这批货物在测试后发现了未获批准的转基因玉米。这是11月中旬以来第五批被中方禁 止的美国玉米，总量大约为18万吨。检疫部门称，这些玉米中被检测出MIR162，这是尚未获得中国农业部批准进口的转基因生物菌株。
Nicholas Klinefeldt表示，被窃取的专利种子预计将会给两家美国种子公司带来3000至4000万美元的损失。
金色农华官网信息显示，金色农华是由大北农于2001年10月出资成立的一家集科研、繁育、生产、加工、推广为一体的全国性大型种业科技企业，公司拥有全国农作物种子生产经营许可权，目前主营玉米、水稻、棉花、油菜等作物优质良种。
One man, Mo Hailong, also known as Robert Mo, was arrested Wednesday in Miami, where he lives, said U.S. Attorney Nicholas Klinefeldt, the Des Moines-based federal prosecutor for central Iowa. Mo is charged with conspiracy to steal trade secrets. The other five men charged are being sought by federal authorities, Klinefeldt said.
Court documents read like an espionage novel with Chinese men found crawling on their knees in Midwest cornfields secretly stealing corn ears and federal agents obtaining court orders to tap the cell phone and bug the rental car of the CEO of Kings Nower Seed, a subsidiary of Beijing-based conglomerate DBN Group.
The FBI also placed GPS tracking devices on cars and tracked the men as they moved around the Midwest countryside stopping at cornfields and buying bags of seed from dealers in Iowa and Missouri.
Mo did not yet have an attorney appointed for him. Kings Nower Seed did not immediately return an email message.
The other men charged include Li Shaoming, CEO of Kings Nower Seed and employees Wang Lei, Ye Jian, and Lin Young. They all live in China, which shares no extradition agreement with the U.S.
Wang Hongwei, a dual citizen of China and Canada, who lives in Canada, also is charged. Klinefeldt said the U.S. and Canada does have an extradition agreement and all avenues are being considered to bring him into custody.
Court documents allege the men were observed taking corn from test fields containing highly valuable seed owned by Pioneer Hybrid and Monsanto, hiding it in a storage unit near Des Moines and eventually taking it to farm in Monee, Ill., which the FBI said had been purchased by Kings Nower Seed in March 2012.
In August 2012, the FBI attached listening and GPS tracking devices to a car rented by Lin and Ye and recorded conversations about how they collect seed, what they would do with it, what might happen if they get caught, and how Li was directing the activity.
On Sept. 30, 2012, the FBI tracked Ye and Li as they prepared to fly from Chicago to China. U.S. Customs searched them and found corn seed in their luggage. Ye had seed concealed in his pockets 13 napkins from a Subway sandwich shop.
Wang flew to Burlington, Vt., and rented a car to drive into Canada. The FBI notified border agents to watch for him and he was searched. According to court documents, 44 bags containing corn seeds were hidden under the car seat and in his luggage.
Seed developers like Monsanto and Pioneer spend millions of dollars and years to develop new varieties and carefully protect them against theft to maintain a competitive advantage.
"The goal of the individuals participating in this scheme was to obtain the benefit of research and development of U.S. companies without making the same investments themselves," said Tom Metz, special agent in charge of the FBI's Omaha Division.
He said the foreign companies steal trade secrets, allowing them "to undercut U.S. companies on a global basis as they can oftentimes sell the products they have stolen on a cheaper basis than U.S. corporations."
The loss to a U.S. seed corn manufacturer of a patented seed line is a minimum of $30 million to $40 million and from five to eight years of research time, Klinefeldt said.
"Monsanto takes this development seriously and is cooperating with the U.S. Attorney's office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation on this matter as requested," said Lee Quarles, a company spokesman said in an emailed statement.
Pioneer spokeswoman Jane Slusark said in an email the company is "committed to protect the integrity of DuPont proprietary science and technology for the benefit of our shareholders, customers, and employees."
The charges are the culmination of a 2½ year investigation by the FBI that began in the summer of 2011 after Mo, Wang, and Li were found in a Bondurant field of a farmer growing test seed for Monsanto.
