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Greek authorities arrested Colonel Christos Flessas in February 2026 on charges of spying for China. Flessas was the commander of the Hellenic Air Force’s 128th Telecommunications Training Squadron in Kavouri. He also has two master's degrees in electronic transmissions and data protection and is considered an expert in cryptocommunications. Flessas previously expressed an interest in China to his coworkers, studied the language, and took at least one personal trip to China. He has attended multiple NATO-sponsored conferences and events in recent years, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was initially contacted by Chinese intelligence on LinkedIn and then recruited during one of these NATO conferences. Flessas then used an encrypted app created by Chinese intelligence which allowed him to upload and transmit classified information to his handler, a Chinese citizen living in Greece. He was paid between €5,000 and €15,000 for each segment of classified information he provided. Flessas had access to an enormous amount of classified data from Greece and NATO, including telecommunications capabilities and the movement of fighter jets throughout Europe. According to Greek media reports, the Central Intelligence Agency alerted Greek authorities to Flessas’ espionage in October 2025. The EYP intelligence agency began investigating him and was able to track the flow of classified information because Flessas used a QR-code-based system to transfer the material which left digital traces they could follow. Authorities moved to arrest him after learning he was planning to recruit others on behalf of Chinese intelligence. Flessas is reportedly cooperating fully with investigators. He potentially faces a life sentence for espionage.