Los Angeles, Apr 16: A businesswoman accused of sleeping with US agents in order to steal secrets for China has been refused bail amid fears she could flee the country with sensitive documents. Alleged double agent Katrina Leung, 49, who has been dubbed a modern Mata Hari by media here, appeared in court in Los Angeles almost a week after she was arrested in a diplomatically explosive case of double espionage.
US magistrate Victor Kenton denied her bail request, saying Herlawyers had failed to show that she could not flee to China and she may still "have classified information" vital to US national security. Prosecutors said in court documents that Leung was a flight risk who had told federal bureau of investigation agents she wanted to "disappear" and claimed to have more than 2,100 contacts with senior Chinese officials.

Prosecutors say Leung, who has almost a million dollars in 16 bank accounts as well as around two million dollars in property, had long-term affairs with two FBI agents from whom she stole secret documents and passed them on to Communist China.
The successful ethnic-Chinese entrepreneur carried on a 20-year romance with former FBI agent James Smith, 59, during which she used her access to him to steal secrets from his briefcase, prosecutors allege. "Leung described how smith would come to her house and leave his briefcase open which would give her the opportunity to take documents out of (it) and copy them without smith's knowledge," US attorney Debra Yang said.

Bureau Report