Arrest On Espionage-related Charges
In October 2005, he was interviewed twice by the authorities, and his multi-million dollar home in Hawaii was searched. Later the same month, he was arrested, and charged with giving secret defense information to unauthorized parties. According to prosecutors, the information mostly related to the B-2 project, and at least eight foreign countries were shown documents relating to the B-2's stealth technology. In an affidavit, Gowadia admitted to transmitting classified information, and stated that he did so "to establish the technological credibility with the potential customers for future business." Gowadia was held without bail after his arrest.
On October 26, 2005, Gowadia was arrested and charged with one count of "willfully communicating delivering or transmitting national defense information to a person not entitled to receive it, which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation" in the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii.
On November 8, 2006, a federal grand jury in Honolulu returned an 18-count superseding indictment against Gowadia. According to a press release from the Department of Justice:
The indictment charges Gowadia with "performing substantial defense related services for the People's Republic of China (PRC) by agreeing to design, and later designing, a low observable cruise missile exhaust system nozzle capable of rendering the missile less susceptible to detection and interception."Count one of the superseding indictment charges Gowadia with conspiring to violate the Arms Export Control Act by entering into an illegal agreement to design and assist in the testing of the stealthy cruise missile nozzle. Count two charges Gowadia with the substantive act of performing a defense service for the PRC without first obtaining the necessary licensing approval of the U.S. Department of State. The superseding indictment describes six trips taken by Gowadia to the PRC for the purpose of discussing, designing and testing the stealthy cruise missile nozzle and describes contacts through covert email addresses between Gowadia and named co-conspirators, one of whom is alleged to be a representative of the PRC's "Foreign Experts Bureau." The superseding indictment also describes Gowadia's covert travel and entry into mainland China for the purpose of assisting the PRC in the development of the stealthy exhaust nozzle.
The superseding indictment also charges Gowadia with three counts of willfully communicating classified national defense information to PRC representatives with the intent that it be used to the advantage of the PRC or to the injury of the United States. The superseding indictment additionally charges Gowadia with two counts of willfully communicating classified national defense information which could be used to the advantage of the PRC, or the injury of the United States to persons in the PRC not entitled to receive it.Gowadia was also charged with helping to design stealth technology for Chinese missiles, and with money laundering.
Read more about this topic: Noshir Gowadia
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