University of Michigan Under Federal Investigation for Foreign Funding Violations

The University of Michigan long considered a crown jewel of American higher education is now under federal investigation for allegedly violating foreign funding disclosure laws and maintaining ties with entities linked to Chinese military development.

According to documents obtained by the U.S. Department of Education, the university may have failed to report or misrepresented hundreds of millions of dollars it received from foreign sources over the last decade. The ongoing probe could expose a deeply troubling network of foreign influence and potential national security breaches happening on American soil under the guise of academic collaboration.

A July 15 letter from the Department’s Office of General Counsel to University of Michigan interim president Domenico Grasso raised serious concerns “Incomplete, inaccurate, and untimely disclosures may have been submitted by UM, in possible violation of its foreign source funding statutory disclosure obligations.”

Here’s what the investigation has revealed so far:

• Over $375 million in foreign funding has flowed into UM since 2021, with nearly $86 million reported late or inaccurately.

• At least $270 million came from 38 different countries over the past decade.

• UM’s federal research funding alone totaled $1.17 billion in FY24, with contracts from the DOD, NIH, NSF, and other agencies.

But the investigation isn’t just about sloppy paperwork. It’s about where the money is coming from and what it’s being used for.

The Department’s letter references two separate criminal cases involving Chinese nationals affiliated with UM, both charged with smuggling dangerous biological materials into the United States for use in UM laboratories. One incident occurred just five days before the other both raising red flags at the highest levels of government.

This bombshell comes after UM was pressured in January to shut down its joint research institute with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, following a letter from Chairman John Moolenaar of the U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. That letter warned of potential threats to U.S. national security, noting the Chinese university’s known role in developing:

• Nuclear weapons

• Satellites and carrier rockets

• Nuclear submarines

• Fighter jets

Despite the growing evidence, some UM officials have continued to downplay the risks, treating concerns about Chinese influence and IP theft as overblown. But the facts suggest otherwise.

This all stems from an executive order signed by President Trump in April 2020, which demanded transparency from U.S. colleges and universities about where their foreign money comes from and how it’s used. That order is now serving as the foundation for this high-stakes federal probe.

The implications are massive. Universities like Michigan receive billions in taxpayer-funded research dollars, and if that cutting-edge science is being co-opted or compromised by foreign adversaries, it poses a grave threat to U.S. defense, innovation, and economic competitiveness.

This isn’t just a paperwork issue. It’s a wake-up call.

If elite American institutions can’t keep foreign influence in check especially from adversarial nations like China then the integrity of our national security and scientific leadership is at risk.

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