According to an FBI affidavit, Tellis, an unpaid adviser to the State Department and a Pentagon contractor, was under surveillance between September and October 2025. He was allegedly seen entering secure facilities, including the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment, printing classified materials, and hiding them inside notepads and a leather briefcase. Investigators said he also accessed the State Department’s classified “Classnet” system, downloaded a 1,288-page U.S. Air Force file, and deceptively renamed it “Econ Reform” before printing sections.

A search of his Vienna residence on October 11 uncovered a trove of classified papers stored in cabinets, on desks, and even in trash bags. The FBI also documented multiple meetings between Tellis and Chinese government officials at restaurants in Fairfax, Virginia. On one occasion, he arrived with a manila envelope but left without it; at other times, Chinese officials reportedly handed him gift bags.

Tellis was arrested the same day he was scheduled to fly to Rome. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. “The charges represent a grave risk to national security,” said Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for Virginia’s Eastern District.

An influential voice in U.S.-India relations, Tellis was instrumental in negotiating the 2005 civil nuclear deal. In recent years, he had become a sharp critic of Washington’s assumptions about India’s strategic alignment, warning that New Delhi often charted an independent course.

According to an FBI affidavit, Tellis, an unpaid adviser to the State Department and a Pentagon contractor, was under surveillance between September and October 2025. He was allegedly seen entering secure facilities, including the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment, printing classified materials, and hiding them inside notepads and a leather briefcase. Investigators said he also accessed the State Department’s classified “Classnet” system, downloaded a 1,288-page U.S. Air Force file, and deceptively renamed it “Econ Reform” before printing sections.

A search of his Vienna residence on October 11 uncovered a trove of classified papers stored in cabinets, on desks, and even in trash bags. The FBI also documented multiple meetings between Tellis and Chinese government officials at restaurants in Fairfax, Virginia. On one occasion, he arrived with a manila envelope but left without it; at other times, Chinese officials reportedly handed him gift bags.

Tellis was arrested the same day he was scheduled to fly to Rome. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. “The charges represent a grave risk to national security,” said Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for Virginia’s Eastern District.

An influential voice in U.S.-India relations, Tellis was instrumental in negotiating the 2005 civil nuclear deal. In recent years, he had become a sharp critic of Washington’s assumptions about India’s strategic alignment, warning that New Delhi often charted an independent course.