A spy allegedly worked for Canadian government agencies before training for NATO, the CBC has learned
A Canadian woman who was recently arrested by Belgian authorities on suspicion of espionage appears to have worked for several government agencies before training for NATO.
A CBC News investigation identified the woman as Biwei Zhang, a software engineer with an economics background who previously worked for the Canadian Space Agency and Statistics Canada.
Zhang's public and professional profiles match information provided by Belgian prosecutors, who described the suspect as a “Canadian national of Chinese descent” who was a student at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), NATO's military headquarters in Mons, Belgium.
The home of the suspect who works for SHAPE was searched last Thursday, according to the press at the Prosecutor's Office. He was reportedly arrested a day later on charges of “espionage and participation in a criminal organization.”
Belgian courts do not publicly identify defendants in criminal investigations until the trial. As such, the Belgian prosecutor's office will not confirm the identity of the spy or his lawyer, telling CBC News it “never discloses.[s] what people suspect in an ongoing investigation,” a method consistent with “respecting the presumption of innocence, which must be guaranteed under all circumstances.”
However, using open-source investigative techniques, the CBC matched the Belgian authorities' description with identifying information from Zhang's LinkedIn, Facebook and Threads profiles, as well as his graduate thesis and federal court case.
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Although Biwei Zhang appears as her legal name, she uses the name Claire Zhang professionally, and goes by Catina Zhang on her Facebook profile.
Posted in two different Facebook groups in July 2025, Zhang said he was looking for a room to rent in Mons as he began his academic career. He also sought housing in Geneva in 2023 just before an internship at the World Trade Organization – dates that match his work experience on his LinkedIn profile.
The details are also consistent with information reported by Reuters earlier this week, which identified the woman as Claire Z. A security source told Reuters she worked in SHAPE's IT department, which matches Zhang's background in computer science and systems engineering, where she will complete a master's degree at the University of Ottawa in 2022.
The source also described him as “not a student” and “in his 30s,” information similar to Zhang's profile. His Facebook username, “biwei.zhang.93,” also suggests he may have been born in 1993, which would make him 32 or 33 years old.
The same identifying information was reported by independent European investigative news agency Follow Money and its media partners on Tuesday.
Zhang did not immediately respond to CBC's requests for comment on his LinkedIn and Facebook profiles.
Belgian officials say the suspected spy will remain in custody for at least another month as the investigation continues.
National security concerns
The case also raised concerns about the effectiveness of Canada's security vetting procedures, prompting Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree to commit to investigating whether the individual in question was working for any Canadian agencies.
“Finally, we must get to the bottom of this, and ensure that these incidents do not happen in the future,” said Anandasangaree.
As a Canadian woman who was a student at NATO military headquarters in Belgium faces 'very serious' espionage charges, Public Security Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Canada will investigate its security vetting practices and 'get to the bottom of what happened.'
According to his LinkedIn profile, Zhang has held several positions in government agencies, including a data scientist for the National Research Council for six months in 2017, an economist for StatsCan from April 2018 to October 2022, and as a systems engineer at the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) from May 2022.
He also lists experience as a policy analyst for the European Space Agency, and the economic and statistical research division of the World Trade Organization, as well as positions on the “mirror committees” of the Standards Council of Canada, a Crown corporation that serves as “Canada's voice on standards and accreditation at the international level.”
In an emailed statement, the European Space Agency said it uses standard procedures for evaluating positions that do not require security clearance, and is dependent on “the appropriate National Security Authority. [to] conduct a thorough due diligence process” when classified information is involved.
The CSA accepted CBC's request for comment but did not provide a response by press time.
A spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada told CBC News that the Canadian government “makes the final decision to grant, deny, or revoke security clearance to Canadians seeking positions with international organizations, including NATO” following a security assessment by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).
Global Affairs declined to comment on the specific case “as it is a matter of ongoing investigation.”
Zhang also requested a legal review of the Public Service Commission of Canada finding that he had committed fraud in an application for a position at the Canada Border Services Agency by applying under two different names and emails and failing to clarify later whether he had applied for multiple jobs.
A federal judge dismissed the case in August 2024.
Apprentice exposes 'Achilles heel': former spy
Former CSIS intelligence chief Dan Stanton told CBC News that while he doesn't have specific information about the case, he can see why NATO would be concerned about a possible intelligence breach.
He says trainee positions are “very good on the road” and likens them to the “Achilles heel” of an organization like NATO.
“A lot of the biggest secrets of espionage are not because of stealing files or accessing data banks. They are conversations, hearing things,” said Stanton, who is now the director of the national security program at the University of Ottawa's Professional Development Institute.
Still, the former spy sees the investigation as “good news.”
“In the counterintelligence world, these kinds of things happen,” he said.
“It's proof that our processes are working.”
