What happened: Chinese engineer Zewei Xu, 33, has been extradited from Italy to the United States after being arrested at Milan Malpensa airport on July 3, 2025, on a US warrant linked to alleged cyber espionage activities.
- The transfer was carried out in recent days after Italian authorities completed the final procedural steps.
Why it matters: The case brings together three major strategic issues: cyber security, the protection of sensitive biomedical research, and Italy’s increasingly close judicial cooperation with Washington.
- It also shows how Europe remains a key operational arena in cases involving global technology competition.
The allegations. According to the FBI, Xu was allegedly part of a hacking group involved in stealing confidential information in 2020, including data related to Covid-19 vaccines and therapies while governments and pharmaceutical companies were racing to contain the pandemic.
- US authorities have repeatedly argued that such operations aimed to secure scientific and economic advantages.
The legal path. Italy’s courts examined the US request over several months. On January 27, Milan’s Court of Appeal ruled the extradition request admissible.
- Xu’s defense team challenged the decision, but Italy’s Supreme Court rejected the appeal on April 16, effectively removing the last judicial obstacle.
The latest: Following the court rulings, Italy’s Justice Ministry granted the final authorization required under extradition procedures.
- Once the political-administrative approval was issued, the handover to US authorities was executed.
The bigger picture: The extradition fits into a broader pattern of Western concern over cyber operations targeting research centers, pharmaceutical companies and strategic industries. Since the Covid crisis, US and allied intelligence services have intensified scrutiny of hacking campaigns attributed to Chinese-linked actors.
- For Rome, the Xu case confirms that cyber security has become a central pillar of the transatlantic relationship, where legal cooperation and national security increasingly overlap.
