Huawei leveled with 23 criminal charges by the USA government, including theft
- by Rex Christensen
- in Economy
- — Jan 29, 2019
Prosecutors filed a pair of indictments in federal court in recent weeks that were unsealed Monday - one in Washington state and one in NY - against Huawei, the latest development in a broader USA crackdown against the Chinese company.
During a press conference this afternoon, the Department of Justice did just that, indicting the Chinese telecommunication company on 13 counts including money laundering, obstruction of justice, and sanction violations.
Ms Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested in Canada a year ago over alleged violations of United States sanctions in Iran.
The Justice Department also charged that when Huawei became aware of the US investigation in 2017, the company's American affiliate tried to obstruct that work by trying to move witnesses with knowledge about Huawei's Iran-based business back to China, where FBI agents could not interview them.
The second indictment against Huawei surrounds its stealing trade secrets in 2012 and charges that stem from covering up the theft.
US authorities accuse Meng of playing a lead role in the scheme to use subsidiaries to conduct business in Iran in violation of USA sanctions against Tehran. She's accused of helping Huawei get around the U.S. sanctions against Iran. "This Office will continue to hold accountable companies and their executives, whether here or overseas, that commit fraud against US financial institutions and their global counterparts and violate US laws created to maintain our national security", said Richard Donoghue, US attorney for the Eastern District of NY. In one of the two indictments, the Justice Department prosecutors accuse Huawei employees, including CFO Meng Wanzhou, of fraud.
Whitaker said these were not "rogue employees" acting on their own, but that stealing intellectual property was a "way of doing business" encouraged by Huawei itself.
The indictment alleges Huawei misled the U.S. and a global bank about its relationship with subsidiaries to conduct business with Iran.
Huawei is the world's biggest supplier of network gear used by phone and internet companies and has always been seen as a front for spying by the Chinese military or security services.
In the T-Mobile case, Huawei was charged with misappropriating robotic technology from one of T-Mobile's labs located in Bellevue, Washington.
Canadian officials arrested Meng on a United States warrant on December 1.
He reaffirmed that the U.S.is seeking extradition of Meng and would formally file for the extradition by Tuesday, Canada's deadline.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will take part in the two days of talks beginning Wednesday, along with the president's economic adviser Larry Kudlow and trade adviser Peter Navarro.
Top Chinese officials are due in Washington this week to discuss ending a trade war between the two countries.
