Employees in the Czech branch of Chinese company Huawei routinely collect sensitive data about officials and business people with whom they come into contact and share it with the country’s embassy, Czech Radio’s flagship station Radiožurnál reports.

The station found evidence of the practice while examining how Huawei operates in the Czech Republic. Two former company managers, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed close cooperation between Huawei workers and Chinese intelligence, despite the company’s denials.

Czech and Western intelligence services are convinced that to have Huawei roll out national infrastructure such as the 5G network would represent a security threat. The company told Radiožurnál in a statement that it fully complies with GDPR rules regarding privacy.

Czech President Miloš Zeman has said that Huawei is being tarred without any proof as part of what he called unfair business practices.