CSIS warned space agency about ex-engineer now facing charges: court documents

Canada's spy agency sent multiple warnings to the Canadian Space Agency about Wanping Zheng, a former engineer now accused of negotiating on behalf of a Chinese aerospace company — and even refused to give a presentation at the CSA because it knew Zheng would be there, according to new court documents.

The RCMP charged 61-year-old Zheng last December with breach of trust in a case police say is tied to foreign interference.

According to an affidavit used to obtain search warrants on his phone and email, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service sent three warnings to the space agency about Zheng's "reliability status."

WATCH: Space agency staffer accused of negotiating for Chinese company

Reliability status is a personnel security status within the federal government that is required before an employee can gain access to certain protected information, assets or work sites.

The first CSIS warning came in 2015, although at the time the agency didn't offer many details about its concerns. CSIS also asked the space agency that year if Zheng would have had access to information related to an anti-vibration table — intellectual property belonging to CSA.

CSIS sent two follow-up warnings in March and May of 2016.

The next year, CSA renewed Zheng's security clearance for two years instead of the usual 10 — an effort to monitor Zheng's compliance with CSA internal policies, the documents say.

A spokesperson for the CSA wouldn't comment on the timing of the renewal.

"When concerns about this individual's private activities outside of their employment arose, the CSA took actions, including an internal inquiry and restricting access to information," said CSA spokesperson Andrea Matte.

"We cannot comment further on a matter before the court."

In September of 2017, CSIS refused to make a presentation to the agency because it knew that Zheng was going to attend.

The documents say CSIS routinely reports on anomalies or irregularities without passing on specific details.

"The purpose of this procedure is to trigger an internal or police investigation without revealing or compromising their intelligence gathering techniques," says the French affidavit.