Norway drops spying claims against foreign student, says he’s being held now for a ‘financial crime’

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norwegian authorities have dropped spying allegations against an unidentified 25-year-old foreign student and are now holding him on suspicion of a “serious financial crime.” The student, from Malaysia, was arrested earlier this month for illegally eavesdropping by using various technical devices. A court ordered he be held in pre-trial custody for four weeks, on suspicion of espionage and intelligence operations against the NATO-member Nordic country. The original allegations against him have now changed, with police saying on Friday that his use of signal technology was an effort to gain information for financial gain.