A 54-year-old Greek Air Force Colonel Christos Flessas was detained pending trial on February 10 for allegedly engaging in espionage activities for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He is accused of leaking military secrets to the Chinese, including classified information of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The Greek government learned about the leaks from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) report, and after Flessas was arrested on February 5, the Greek General Staff of National Defense issued a rare statement citing “clear evidence of violating military criminal law.”
If convicted, Flessas could face a life sentence and potential deprivation of Greek citizenship. The prosecution accuses him of “transmitting the highest military secrets to China (CCP).” Reports indicate that two other retired Greek Air Force officers are also implicated in the case.
Flessas was recruited by Beijing last year. Chinese intelligence officers initially contacted him through LinkedIn and later recruited him at a NATO meeting. Flessas admitted to using encryption software provided by Chinese intelligence agencies to photograph and transmit confidential NATO documents. He admitted to being lured by money, receiving between €5,000 to €15,000 for each data transfer.
He failed to report his trip to China and secretly underwent spy training during his stay, which ultimately led to his arrest by the CIA.
Flessas, through his lawyer, stated: “I got involved unknowingly and unintentionally, and things later turned into a dangerous and illegal nightmare. I do not wish to justify or defend myself… I request the court to give me a fair punishment.”
Flessas is not just your average Air Force officer; he served for 35 years and is considered one of Greece’s most senior experts in communication, electronic systems, and network security.
He held key positions at the Greek General Staff and served as the Chief Information Systems Officer at NATO for a decade. During his tenure, he conducted surveys of military bases in Greece and Europe, evaluating radars, air defense networks, and critical infrastructure.
He was involved in radar reconnaissance software development and participated in the upgrade of the “Patriot” missile system. Additionally, he specialized in encrypted communication and had access to highly sensitive data.
In July 2024, he became the commander of the 128th Signal and Electronic Training Battalion (SETI) stationed in Kavouri, Attica, a suburban area of Athens, where he was recently apprehended.
Nicholas Eftimiades, a retired senior intelligence official from the United States and an expert on Chinese spy operations, told The Guardian that the Greek case serves as a warning to NATO and the global democratic camp. “This case shows that China (CCP) intends to and has the ability to penetrate military communication systems in Greece and other NATO countries. Engaging in espionage is to gain an advantage in warfare. Despite China (CCP) consistently claiming to be friendly and cooperative, it continues to strengthen its threat to democratic countries worldwide.”
Former Beijing lawyer and independent scholar Lai Jianping analyzed, “We should know that the CCP has prospered through these secret societies and secret agents. They included infiltrating the Kuomintang’s army and political high-level figures to seize power back then. Now, to maintain power, they are infiltrating all over the world.”
Recent espionage cases involving the Chinese Communist Party are not limited to Greece. The Paris public prosecutor’s office announced on February 4 that four people were arrested in France for engaging in espionage activities for China, including two Chinese citizens attempting to steal sensitive data from the French government and military using Starlink.
In September last year, a German Alternative for Germany (AfD) party parliamentary assistant was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for engaging in espionage activities for China.
Nicholas Eftimiades, currently a homeland security professor at Penn State University, published “Chinese Intelligence Operations and Strategy” last year. He stated that due to Chinese (CCP) laws requiring citizens to support their country’s espionage activities, Western countries are increasingly susceptible to attacks by Beijing’s spy chiefs.
Eftimiades said, “China (CCP) conducts global espionage activities through ‘whole society participation,’ a stark contrast to the practices of any Western government. The sheer scale of its operations makes countermeasures almost impossible… Western societies are open democratic countries, making them extremely vulnerable to China (CCP)’s clandestine influence activities.”
The impact of this espionage case exceeds legal proceedings, sparking discussions on national security, economic security, CCP infiltration, and strategic expansion, which may further influence Greece’s future foreign investment strategies. Greek authorities continue to investigate, while the international community closely monitors developments.