A former United Nations official, James “Kuang Chi” Wan, has been arrested and charged by the FBI for allegedly brokering over $1 billion in illegal arms deals between China and Libya in violation of international sanctions.
A Global News report published on Monday revealed that Wan was arrested on January 21, 2023, after his flight landed at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. He has been charged with breaching the U.S. Arms Export Control Act.
Wan, a 62-year-old Canadian resident based in Montreal, formerly served as deputy director of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a U.N. agency.
According to FBI documents uncovered by Global News, Wan allegedly coordinated the sale of $1.54 billion worth of Chinese military equipment—drones, missiles, and other weapons—to Libyan National Army forces led by General Khalifa Haftar between 2019 and 2023, in violation of the U.N. arms embargoes and trade sanctions against Libya.
The documents also showed that between 2019 and late 2022, Wan helped facilitate oil-for-arms transactions, where Libyan crude oil was exchanged for Chinese military equipment. U.S. and Canadian authorities believe China used Canadian connections and international institutions like ICAO to support these operations.
The FBI investigation revealed that Wan worked with six unnamed co-conspirators, including one Canadian, in a multinational scheme to broker arms and oil deals between China and Libya. Wan also allegedly claimed that one of the co-conspirators was a “special advisor” to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Wan’s arrest is linked to a separate Canadian case involving two individuals accused of smuggling Libyan oil to China.
