Federal police have charged a former Australian intelligence official with breaching secrecy laws after ASIO discovered a cache of classified files during a raid on his home in late 2015.

The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald can reveal that Roger Uren was arrested and charged last week with multiple counts of engaging in the unauthorised handling of classified material in breach of the intelligence services act.

It’s understood Mr Uren’s charges were authorised by Attorney-General Christian Porter, according to sources familiar with the matter. Mr Uren, who was released on bail last week, is married to Chinese-Australian lobbyist and suspected intelligence operative Sheri Yan.

Roger Uren and Sheri Yan. Credit:Black Tie Magazine

The ASIO agents who raided Yan and Mr Uren's Canberra property were working closely with FBI officials who charged Yan in New York in October 2015 with bribing the former president of the United Nations General Assembly, John Ashe.