The U. S. Justice Department Aug. 23 arrested a man for allegedly conspiring to sell trade secrets from Dow Chemical Company to companies in China. Longtime Dow employee Wen Shyu Liu, 69, was arrested Aug. 22 in Seattle, Wash., on charges of conspiracy, receipt and possession of stolen trade secrets, wire fraud, illegal monetary transactions, perjury and asset forfeiture, U.S. Attorney David Dugas said.
All charges were associated with stolen Dow trade secrets which the suspect is alleged to have attempted to market to Chinese firms. A 15-count indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on March 24, 2005. The indictment says Liou worked for Dow from 1965 until he retired in March 1992. While at Dow, Liou worked in research and development and had signed employment and retirement agreements prohibiting the disclosure of Dow's trade secrets and other confidential information without permission.
According to the indictment, Liou conspired with others to steal trade secrets related to Dow's trademarked Tyrin CPE resins that the company says can be used in vinyl siding, PVC pipes, automotive, wire and cable, and general rubber applications. Liou allegedly hired Dow employees and former employees who had worked in producing Tyrin "to prepare a detailed engineering package to sell to prospective Chinese companies."
If convicted of all counts, Liou faces up to 300 years in prison and a fine of $9.75 million, or, if greater, twice the gain he received or twice the loss he caused to the company, the department said.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2006
