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Justice department files fresh charges against Chinese telecoms equipment group.
February 13, 2020 by David da Silva, Kiran Stacey.
US prosecutors have alleged that Huawei is a criminal enterprise, accusing the Chinese group of stealing technology from a host of US companies, violating sanctions and making false statements to the FBI.
The US justice department on Thursday added several new charges to its criminal case against Huawei, including racketeering, fraud, breaching sanctions against North Korea and fresh allegations of trade theft.
The charges are the latest move by the Trump administration against the Chinese company, which it accuses of systematically breaking US laws on its path to becoming the global market leader in telecoms equipment.
It comes as other countries, including Germany, deliberate on whether to allow Huawei to supply their 5G mobile network equipment, having been warned by Washington that such kit could be used by Beijing for spying.
The US itself has banned US companies from selling equipment to Huawei without a licence, albeit with some exemptions. It extended one of those exemptions on Thursday, allowing American companies to continue supplying parts to maintain old networks, though only for the next 45 days — half the length of previous such extensions.
The DoJ said in a statement: “The new charges in this case relate to the alleged decades-long efforts by Huawei, and several of its subsidiaries, both in the US and in the People’s Republic of China, to misappropriate intellectual property, including from six US technology companies, in an effort to grow and operate Huawei’s business.”
The department added: “Huawei, Huawei USA and Futurewei agreed to reinvest the proceeds of this alleged racketeering activity in Huawei’s worldwide business, including in the United States.”
Huawei rejected Washington’s latest accusations. “These new charges are without merit and are based largely on recycled civil disputes from the past 20 years that have been previously settled, litigated and, in some cases, rejected by federal judges and juries,” a Huawei spokesperson said.
The US first announced charges against Huawei a year ago, accusing it of stealing technology from T-Mobile, the US telecoms company, and of violating sanctions against Iran. The DoJ also accused Meng Wanzhou, the company’s chief financial officer and daughter of the founder Ren Zhengfei, of making false statements about the company’s business dealings in Iran.
Ms Meng is currently in Vancouver as she fights an extradition request from the US. She denies wrongdoing.
In the new charges unveiled Thursday, the US accused the company of stealing technology from five other companies since 2000, describing it as a “pattern of racketeering activity”.
It added that the company hid business dealings in North Korea, which it referred to in internal communications by the code “A9”.
The US also alleged that senior Huawei executives made false statements to the FBI, including an “Individual-1”, referred to at one point as “the founder of Huawei”.
Source: The Financial Times
February 13, 2020 by David da Silva, Kiran Stacey.
US prosecutors have alleged that Huawei is a criminal enterprise, accusing the Chinese group of stealing technology from a host of US companies, violating sanctions and making false statements to the FBI.
The US justice department on Thursday added several new charges to its criminal case against Huawei, including racketeering, fraud, breaching sanctions against North Korea and fresh allegations of trade theft.
The charges are the latest move by the Trump administration against the Chinese company, which it accuses of systematically breaking US laws on its path to becoming the global market leader in telecoms equipment.
It comes as other countries, including Germany, deliberate on whether to allow Huawei to supply their 5G mobile network equipment, having been warned by Washington that such kit could be used by Beijing for spying.
The US itself has banned US companies from selling equipment to Huawei without a licence, albeit with some exemptions. It extended one of those exemptions on Thursday, allowing American companies to continue supplying parts to maintain old networks, though only for the next 45 days — half the length of previous such extensions.
The DoJ said in a statement: “The new charges in this case relate to the alleged decades-long efforts by Huawei, and several of its subsidiaries, both in the US and in the People’s Republic of China, to misappropriate intellectual property, including from six US technology companies, in an effort to grow and operate Huawei’s business.”
The department added: “Huawei, Huawei USA and Futurewei agreed to reinvest the proceeds of this alleged racketeering activity in Huawei’s worldwide business, including in the United States.”
Huawei rejected Washington’s latest accusations. “These new charges are without merit and are based largely on recycled civil disputes from the past 20 years that have been previously settled, litigated and, in some cases, rejected by federal judges and juries,” a Huawei spokesperson said.
The US first announced charges against Huawei a year ago, accusing it of stealing technology from T-Mobile, the US telecoms company, and of violating sanctions against Iran. The DoJ also accused Meng Wanzhou, the company’s chief financial officer and daughter of the founder Ren Zhengfei, of making false statements about the company’s business dealings in Iran.
Ms Meng is currently in Vancouver as she fights an extradition request from the US. She denies wrongdoing.
In the new charges unveiled Thursday, the US accused the company of stealing technology from five other companies since 2000, describing it as a “pattern of racketeering activity”.
It added that the company hid business dealings in North Korea, which it referred to in internal communications by the code “A9”.
The US also alleged that senior Huawei executives made false statements to the FBI, including an “Individual-1”, referred to at one point as “the founder of Huawei”.
Source: The Financial Times
