A top Canadian intelligence adviser with connections in China has been charged with leaking secret information and 'spying for foreign powers', authorities said on Friday.

Cameron Ortis, a director general with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's intelligence unit, faces multiple counts under the country's criminal code and Security of Information Act.

One section of the law used to charge Ortis refers to a person with security clearance who 'intentionally and without authority, communicates or confirms special operational information.'

He also faces charges of breach of trust and misuse of a credit card, Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.

Otis was a former adviser to the RCMP's top officer, and is the only civilian to have ever achieved the position of director general of intelligence. He advised on national security and sensitive investigations.

Cameron Ortis (above) has been charged with 'spying for foreign powers' according to authorities who spoke out on Friday

Sources with knowledge of national security investigations described Ortis as former RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson's most elite adviser on issues related to national security. Paulson is pictured left with Ottawa police chief Charles Bordeleau

Police offered few details about the charges Ortis is facing, or what the alleged leaked information was in relation to.

He is facing seven charges dating back to 2015 under both the Criminal Code and the Security of Information Act, Global News reported. One of the charges is espionage with foreign powers, according to Fox News.

In a statement RCMP claimed: 'The charges stem from activities alleged to have occurred during his tenure as an RCMP employee.

'As this investigation is ongoing, we will not be making any other comment at this time.'

But Global News claimed the RCMP believe Ortis stole 'large quantities of information, which could compromise an untold number of investigations.'

Other sources claimed that the case was 'serious spy s**t.'

'I can assure you the authorities are taking this extremely seriously but you might understand I have no comment to make,' Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters, soon after the charges against Ortis were made public.

Neither Ortis, who is in custody, or his lawyer could be reached for immediate comment. A court hearing in the case has been set for September 20 and he appeared in court briefly Friday.

John MacFarlane, counsel with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, told journalists briefly outside an Ottawa courthouse that it is alleged 'he obtained, stored, and processed sensitive information.

'We believe with the intent to communicate it to people that he shouldn't be communicating it to.'

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was 'of course made aware' of the case but could not comment on the matter on Friday

Sources with knowledge of national security investigations claimed Ortis was former RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson's most elite adviser on national security matters. Paulson served in office from 2011-2017.

'Operationally, this could be very, very bad,' said Stephanie Carvin, an assistant professor and security expert at Ottawa's Carleton University.

Ortis is described as an Ottawa intellectual and an academic. He was reportedly perceived as arrogant by members of the country's national security establishment.

Canada is part of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network with United States, Britain, New Zealand and Australia.

A brief LinkedIn profile for Ortis shows he speaks Mandarin and has both a certificate in internet systems administration and a doctorate in international relations from the University of British Columbia in western Canada.

The law Ortis is being charged under is the same one Canadian naval officer Jeffrey Delisle, (pictured), was charged under. He was accused of handing over secrets to Russia for more than four years

The 2012 law Ortis is being charged under was used to prosecute a Canadian naval officer who handed over secrets to Russia for more than four years. Sub-Lieutenant Jeffrey Delisle was jailed for 20 years in 2013 but released on parole in 2018.

Canadian officials told a sentencing hearing in 2013 that allies had threatened to withhold intelligence from Canada unless it tightened security procedures.

It is understood that Ortis' expertise in computers and cyberspace meat that he the had access to sensitive high-tech information, according to Global News.

He has connections to East Asia and China so could have possibly had extensive national security information.

As a civilian member of the RCMP’s strategic intelligence unit, Ortis was in a position which gave him unrestricted access to operational intelligence, according to a source.

He also worked with FINTRAC, (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada).

It was reported that he wrote a Ph.D. thesis at the University of British Columbia in 2006 on cyber-security in East Asia.

The thesis, titled 'Bowing to Quirinus : compromised nodes and cyber security in East Asia' was finished in 2006.

The thesis has an emphasis on cyber-security with a specific interest in East Asia, according to The Post Millenial.

'The insecurities of the digital world call into question the efficacy and legitimacy of traditional state-based security when applied to new internet–based threats. But for the foreseeable future the state remains the only actor with the authority, legitimacy, resources and governance tools to address these issues,' writes Ortis in the thesis.