Update | Photos emerge of arrested ex-CIA agent suspended from security job at Christie’s Hong Kong

Photos of a former CIA agent currently in US custody for suspected espionage have emerged showing a rugged “strongly built” man who had worked at auction house Christie’s in Hong Kong for nearly two years.

Hong Kong resident and US citizen Jerry Chun Shing Lee, who was arrested this week, had been working with the British auction house for the last 20 months and was “focused on physical security for the firm’s facilities and staff”, according to the firm. Christie’s has suspended Lee.

He had kept a low profile while in Hong Kong. Lee was known to few people in the city and had virtually no digital footprint. However, a Hong Kong website named “The Value” posted photographs of him online. The images showed him standing in a salesroom wearing a blue suit and an earpiece with the company’s name in the background.

The Post independently verified the identity of the man in the photos. A security source confirmed it was Lee. He was described on the website as “strongly built”, “nice” and someone who would respond politely even when dealing with awkward people.

A Christie’s spokesman, meanwhile, told the Post: “We can confirm we have suspended a Hong Kong employee pending a criminal investigation. His role was not linked to data security or IT functions at the company. The allegations significantly predate his employment with the company.”

The spokesman said Christie’s had “no involvement in this matter” and declined to comment further.