Gal Luft (Hebrew:גל לופט; born May 26, 1966) is anIsraeli-American think-tank director, author and allegedforeign agent. Luft was a lieutenant colonel in theIsrael Defense Forces and is the executive director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security and cofounder of the Set America Free Coalition.[1][2]
Luft was arrested inCyprus on February 17, 2023, on a warrant issued byInterpol on U.S. charges of weapons trafficking. After being released on bail, he went missing on March 28; he subsequently fled and went into hiding.[3][4][5][6] On July 10, 2023, the USJustice Department unsealed the indictment for this arrest, dated November 2022, accusing Luft of eight charges including acting as an unregisteredforeign agent of Chinese entities under the USForeign Agents Registration Act and violating trade sanctions against Iran.[7][8] Among the indictment's allegations is that Luft, at the behest of Chinese entities, recruited and paid an unnamed adviser to then-president-electDonald Trump to adopt pro-Chinese positions.[9][10][11]
In July 2023, Luft said he had made allegations of corruption by US presidentJoe Biden's son,Hunter Biden to the FBI and US Justice Department. These allegations were made in March 2019 involving improper financial arrangements with the Chinese energy companyCEFC. He further said the criminal charges against him were politically motivated reprisals for his allegations.[12][13] In September 2024, federal prosecutors stated that Luft was re-arrested and will be extradited to the United States.[14]
^"Colloquium Speaker: Gal Luft".Johns Hopkins University. 28 January 2005.Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved11 July 2023.He holds degrees in international relations, international economics, Middle East studies and strategic studies and a doctorate in strategic studies from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University
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