In an interview with Germany's ARD TV channel, U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden claimed that the National Security Agency (NSA) is involved in industrial espionage.

Edward Snowden file photo

Snowden said the NSA would spy on big German companies that rival with U.S. companies.

Snowden said if German engineering company Siemens had information that would be "beneficial to the national interests, not the national security, of the United States," the NSA will go after that information and take it.

Snowden said that he no longer had any NSA documents for he had turned them to a number of selected journalists and that he no longer had influence over the release of the files.

The former NSA contractor, who has been charged with espionage, theft and unauthorized communication of national defense and intelligence information, was granted one year asylum by Russia in August.

Earlier disclosures revealed that the U.S. spied on both foreigners and American citizens, as well as 35 heads of state, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, which has damaged U.S. relations with many countries, including its European allies, Latin American countries and Israel.

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