An arrest warrant has been issued for a former Samsung Electronics official accused of giving semiconductor technology information to a Chinese chipmaker, as South Korea reportedly cracks down on industrial espionage. The claimed cost of the espionage is said to be $1.77 billion.

A Seoul judge on December 15th issued the warrant, the Seoul Central District Court said in a statement.

Samsung is making no comment but local reports says the individual left Samsung back in 2016.

The alleged end-user of the data is China’s CXMT, but its statement said it respects intellectual property rights and has a robust mechanism to prevent the inflow of third-party information from its employees.

Prosecutors had sought the warrant last week on suspicion the unnamed official gave information related to 18 nanometer DRAM memory chip technology to China’s Changxin Memory Technologies.

Korea’s Economic Daily reported that the case also involves dozens of others from Samsung Electronics’ suppliers.

Another former Samsung official is already on trial accused of stealing company information to help a client set up a chip factory in China. The defendant, Choi Jinseog, denies the charges and is on bail.

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