01 / Executive brief
Executive summary
Sinovel was not an unknown outsider probing AMSC from a distance. It was one of the American supplier's largest customers, committed to buy more than $800 million in wind-turbine products and services. That commercial dependence gave Sinovel both a reason to understand AMSC's control software and a powerful incentive to escape the relationship. S1
A federal jury found that Sinovel employees recruited AMSC automation chief Dejan Karabasevic, obtained proprietary source code he secretly downloaded, and used software compiled from it in turbines installed in Massachusetts. The court found more than $550 million in AMSC losses; Sinovel was convicted of conspiracy, trade-secret theft, and wire fraud. S1
Modern wind turbines depend on control software as much as steel and fiberglass. In this case, copied source code was compiled into software found in operating Sinovel turbines. Contextual image; not a pictured turbine from the case.
Keith Evans · CC BY-SA 2.0 ↗02 / The vignette
What happened
A customer with leverage
AMSC supplied the power-converter systems and control software that helped Sinovel's turbines operate. The relationship was commercially intimate and enormous: Sinovel had contracted for more than $800 million in AMSC products and services. The same integration that made the partnership valuable also revealed where the critical dependency sat—in software AMSC controlled. S1
The insider and the source code
Trial evidence showed that Sinovel personnel persuaded Karabasevic, the head of automation engineering at AMSC Windtec, to leave his employer and secretly download AMSC's proprietary control-system source code. On March 7, 2011, the code moved from an AMSC computer in Wisconsin to a computer in Klagenfurt, Austria—a trusted engineer turning customer knowledge into a portable substitute for the supplier. S1
Copied software became operating equipment
The transfer did not end as files on a computer. Investigators traced compiled versions of the stolen code into Sinovel turbines commissioned in Massachusetts. After an eleven-day trial, the jury convicted the company on every charged count; the sentence included the statutory maximum fine, probation, restitution, and additional victim payments. The cited record proves corporate theft, but does not establish PRC government direction. S1S2
03 / Anatomy
How access became transfer
This chain reconstructs the sequence supported by the cited record. It does not imply that every legitimate relationship follows the same path.
- 01
Relationship established
Major customer
Sinovel had contracted to buy more than $800 million in AMSC products and services for its wind turbines. S1
- 02
Sensitive access gained
Trusted engineer
Karabasevic led automation engineering at AMSC Windtec and had access to proprietary control software. S1
- 03
Information acquired
Recruit and extract
Trial evidence showed Sinovel employees persuaded Karabasevic to leave AMSC, join Sinovel, and secretly download source code. S1
- 04
Assets moved
Code crossed borders
The source code was downloaded from an AMSC computer in Wisconsin to a computer in Klagenfurt, Austria. S1
- 05
Technology put to use
Software deployed
Sinovel commissioned turbines in Massachusetts containing software compiled from the stolen AMSC source code. S1
- 06
Competitive harm
Supplier displaced
The court found more than $550 million in AMSC losses; prosecutors and AMSC attributed almost 700 lost jobs and more than $1 billion in lost shareholder equity to the theft. S1
04 / Evidence boundary
What is established—and what is not
Established in the record
- Sinovel was convicted after trial, not merely accused, of conspiracy to commit trade-secret theft, theft of trade secrets, and wire fraud. S1
- Trial evidence traced the copied source code from an AMSC computer through Karabasevic to software installed in Sinovel turbines in Massachusetts. S1
- At the time of the theft, Sinovel was both a major customer and a direct beneficiary of AMSC’s proprietary technology. S1
Uncertain, limited, or unresolved
- The cited trial and sentencing materials do not establish that PRC officials directed or sponsored the scheme; this file therefore records no established state nexus. S1
- The public sources reviewed here do not establish final case outcomes for each charged individual, so this file does not assign them an adjudicated outcome. S1S2
Subject response / procedural context
- Before trial, Sinovel challenged service and personal jurisdiction and argued that adjudication should occur in China; the Seventh Circuit rejected its request for immediate appellate relief without deciding the merits of the criminal charges. S3
05 / Sequence
Timeline
-
Source code downloaded
Trial evidence showed Karabasevic secretly downloaded AMSC source code from Wisconsin to Austria. S1
-
Federal charges announced
The United States charged Sinovel and three individuals with conspiracy, trade-secret theft, and related offenses. S2
-
Jury conviction
After an eleven-day trial, the jury convicted Sinovel of conspiracy, trade-secret theft, and wire fraud. S1
-
Sentence imposed
The court imposed the maximum statutory fine, probation, negotiated restitution, and additional victim payments. S1
06 / People and institutions
Who appears in the public record
Sinovel Wind Group LLC
AMSC customer and Chinese wind-turbine manufacturer
Outcome: Convicted by a U.S. federal jury; fined and ordered to make negotiated restitution and victim payments
Su Liying
Deputy director of Sinovel’s research and development department; charged co-defendant
Zhao Haichun
Sinovel technology manager; charged co-defendant
Dejan Karabasevic
Former head of automation engineering at AMSC Windtec; charged co-defendant
Originator / affected institution
AMSC (formerly American Superconductor Inc.)
Developer and owner of the wind-turbine control technology
Originator / affected institution
AMSC Windtec GmbH
AMSC subsidiary that employed Karabasevic in Austria
07 / Consequences
Documented and attributed harm
The sentencing court found that AMSC’s losses from the theft exceeded $550 million. S1
Prosecutors and AMSC attributed almost 700 lost jobs and more than $1 billion in lost shareholder equity to the theft and resulting financial hardship. S1
Sinovel avoided paying for contracted technology by using software compiled from stolen AMSC source code in its own turbines. S1
08 / Hindsight analysis
Where leadership could have seen risk
These are our analytic judgments based on the public record, not court findings. They are framed to improve controls without treating nationality as a risk factor.
One role concentrated exceptional access
A senior engineering leader could reach high-value source code and became the recruitment target. Privileged technical access deserved tighter segmentation and monitoring.
Commercial dependence became technical exposure
A strategically important customer had deep product knowledge and leverage. Customer risk and insider risk were treated as separate problems when they reinforced each other.
Compiled-code misuse surfaced downstream
Builders examining turbines in Massachusetts helped connect copied code to deployed products. Earlier integrity checks and technical telemetry could have shortened detection time.
09 / Apply the lesson
Actions leaders can take
- companies
Segment crown-jewel source code
Separate source repositories, build systems, and exportable binaries by role; require time-bounded elevation and preserve high-fidelity download and compilation logs.
- companies
Pair account risk with insider risk
When a customer disputes payments, recruits key staff, or seeks deeper technical access, trigger a joint commercial, legal, counterintelligence, and security review.
- both
Pre-plan departures from sensitive teams
Use lawful access reviews, prompt credential changes, device preservation, and targeted log analysis when personnel with crown-jewel access announce a move to a customer or competitor.
- companies
Fingerprint high-value software
Maintain reproducible builds, code provenance, watermarking where appropriate, and a rapid forensic path for comparing suspect products with protected software.
10 / Source record
Sources
Links point to the public record reviewed for this file. Government releases can summarize court proceedings but remain government-authored sources; the source note identifies those limits.
- S1 government release
Court Imposes Maximum Fine on Sinovel Wind Group for Theft of Trade Secrets ↗
U.S. Department of Justice · Published Jul 6, 2018 · Retrieved Aug 23, 2026
Sentencing release summarizing the jury verdict, trial evidence, court loss finding, and sentence.
- S2 government release
Sinovel Corporation and Three Individuals Charged in Wisconsin with Theft of AMSC Trade Secrets ↗
U.S. Department of Justice · Published Jun 27, 2013 · Retrieved Aug 23, 2026
Charging-stage source; allegations in this release are not treated as findings unless later established at trial.
- S3 court record
United States v. Sinovel Wind Group Co., Ltd., No. 14-3013 ↗
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit via Justia · Published Jul 23, 2015 · Retrieved Aug 23, 2026
Pretrial procedural opinion describing Sinovel’s jurisdictional and comity arguments.