Chinese Hacker Wanted by FBI Arrested in Italy

The Italian police have allegedly arrested Chinese citizen Xu Zewei, wanted by the FBI, at the Malpensa Airport in Milan on July 3, 2025. The Chinese hacker is accused of stealing COVID-19 vaccine information from the U.S. and working for Hafnium, a Chinese government-backed hacking group. The 33-year-old man faces extradition to the United States, although he claims to be a victim of mistaken identity.

According to the Italian news agency ANSA, the arrested man’s family claims he is a technician for an IT company, and he was on vacation. An Interior Ministry document states that the U.S. Embassy in Rome informed Italian authorities that Xu was flying from Shanghai.

“His receiving an entry visa to Italy should confirm that we have not committed any crimes, so I cannot understand the reason for my husband's arrest,” said Xu’s wife to the Italian authorities. "My husband works as an IT manager at Shanghai GTA Semi Conductor Ltd (...) and develops IT systems and network infrastructure."

The FBI accuses Xu of carrying out espionage operations, including targeting the University of Texas in 2020, to access data from research on anti-COVID vaccines. The agency also claims that Xu worked for Hafnium during a "large-scale cyber intrusion campaign” in collaboration with the Chinese government and "targeted thousands of computers around the world.”

According to Reuters, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed the arrest this week. Xu’s lawyer said that his client is a victim of mistaken identity, noting that the Chinese citizen’s surname is very common in China. The courts in Milan will decide whether he will be extradited to the U.S.

The DOJ added that in 2021, Xu also worked with Hafnium, which targeted more than 60,000 U.S. entities, exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities in American systems. Xu faces multiple charges in the U.S., including fraud, conspiracy, unauthorized access to protected computers, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft — all punishable by lengthy prison terms.

The United States continues to work with allies to apprehend cybercriminals. Last year, Spanish authorities arrested a 22-year-old British national allegedly involved with the notorious hacker group "Scattered Spider.”