PERTH, Australia (AP) — China is refuting the explosive claims of a self-confessed spy seeking asylum in Australia, saying he is a convicted fraudster wanted by Shanghai police.

The Nine network newspapers reported that Chinese defector Wang “William” Liqiang has given Australia’s counterespionage agency inside intelligence on how Beijing conducts its interference operations abroad and revealed the identities of China’s senior military intelligence officers in Hong Kong.

Wang claimed he was involved in the kidnapping in 2015 of one of five Hong Kong booksellers suspected of selling dissident materials. The incident has been a reference point for protesters during the ongoing unrest in Hong Kong.

The Chinese Embassy hit back saying Wang was sentenced in October 2016 to prison for fraud and later left for Hong Kong on a fake Chinese passport.