US Orders Chinese Crypto Firm to Sell Land Near US Missile Base

The US government has ordered a company with Chinese links and its partners to sell a property it bought near a US Air Force base in Wyoming.

The move was undertaken because the base is part of the US nuclear arsenal and fears that the company, which uses foreign equipment to do crypto mining, may be involved in spying.

On Monday, the company and its partners were given 120 days to sell the property. MineOne Partners Ltd, which is owned by Chinese nationals, partnered with other firms to buy real estate for crypto mining in June 2022, the White House said.

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The move comes as the United States has become increasingly concerned about the national security risks posed by Chinese-led purchases of American property near sensitive military sites.

The land is located within 1.6 kilometres (1 mile) of Wyoming-based Francis E Warren Air Force Base, which is home to part of the US arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

“The proximity of the foreign-owned real estate to a strategic missile base and key element of America’s nuclear triad, and the presence of specialized and foreign-sourced equipment potentially capable of facilitating surveillance and espionage activities, presents a national security risk to the United States,” the White House said in a statement.

MineOne Partners did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In 2022 the Biden administration investigated Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei over concerns that US cell towers fitted with its gear could capture sensitive information from military bases and missile silos that the company could then transmit to China.

The MineOne Partners deal was reviewed by CFIUS, a powerful panel led by the Treasury Department that scrutinizes foreign investment in the US for national security risks.

A 2018 law expanded CFIUS’s authority to review foreign acquisitions of some non-controlling investments in US real estate transactions that pose national security concerns.

The move on Monday “highlights the critical gatekeeper role that CFIUS serves to ensure that foreign investment does not undermine our national security, particularly as it relates to transactions that present risk to sensitive US military installations as well as those involving specialized equipment and technologies,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.