The U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed two indictments against China’s Huawei Technologies Co., its chief financial officer (CFO) Meng Wanzhou, and several of the company’s…
The U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed two indictments against China’s Huawei Technologies Co., its chief financial officer (CFO) Meng Wanzhou, and several of the company’s subsidiaries, in a pair of legal cases accusing the company of violating sanctions against Iran, and stealing trade secrets from U. S. mobile carrier T-Mobile.
In a 13-count indictment, the DOJ said Chinese telecoms giant Huawei misled a global bank and U. S. authorities about its relationship with a Hong Kong firm named Skycom Tech—which was in fact an unofficial subsidiary of Huawei that conducted business in Iran. Meng, who is currently released on bail in Canada and faces extradition to the United States, is listed as a defendant, alongside parent company Huawei and two of its subsidiaries, Huawei USA and Skycom Tech.
In a separate 10-count indictment, the prosecutors accused Huawei of stealing trade secrets, committing wire fraud, and obstructing justice for allegedly stealing robotic technology from T-Mobile to test smartphones’ durability.
“Both sets of charges expose Huawei’s brazen and persistent actions to exploit American companies and financial institutions and threaten the free and fair global marketplace,” said FBI Director, Christopher Wray, at a press conference in Washington D. C. on Jan. 28.
“Huawei and its senior executives repeatedly refused to respect U. S. law and standard international business practices,” Wray added.
The charges add heat to the scrutiny Huawei already faces in the West over allegations that its products could be exploited by Beijing for spying—an allegation the company has repeatedly denied.
In the first indictment, the DOJ unveiled the charges that triggered Meng’s arrest in Canada back in early December.
Prosecutors accuse Huawei of a long-running scheme, which started in 2007, to deceive numerous global banks and the U. S. government regarding the company’s business activities in Iran, a DOJ press release stated.
