WASHINGTON A Wyoming nuclear missile base’s proximity to land owned by a cryptocurrency mining company with Chinese backing is prohibited by an order signed by President Joe Biden on Monday.
The property used as a crypto-mining facility close to the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base must be sold, per the order. Additionally, it mandates the removal of specific machinery owned by MineOne Partners Ltd., a company that the Chinese government partially owns.
According to a U.S. official and another person familiar with the plan, the U.S. is scheduled to impose significant new tariffs on Chinese-imported medical supplies, semiconductors, solar equipment, and electric vehicles on Tuesday.
The divestment order was implemented in concert with the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a little-known but potentially influential government organization that is in charge of looking into business transactions for potential national security threats and has the authority to compel the company to make changes.
A 2018 law gave CFIUS the power to examine real estate deals close to sensitive locations around the country, such as F.E. Warren Air Force Base.
The Treasury Department only stated that there were problems with “specialized and foreign-sourced equipment potentially capable of facilitating surveillance and espionage activities” that “presented a significant national security risk” in the order, leaving the exact national security concerns unclear.
CFIUS claims that the purchase was not reported to the body as needed until the panel got a public tip.
“To ensure that foreign investment does not undermine our national security, particularly as it relates to transactions that present risk to sensitive U.S. military installations as well as those involving specialized equipment and technologies,” stated Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who also chairs the CFIUS.
