Huawei Facing Criminal Charges in the United States

Rate this post

Huawei is now facing criminal charges in the United States. Most experts believe that this will not affect the already strained trade talks between China and the US. The United States Justice Department unsealed a 13-count indictment against Huawei.

The indictment alleges that two other companies and Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou committed fraud and conspiracy in dealings with Iran. One indictment filed in Washington, accused the world’s largest telecommunications equipment manager of stealing trade secrets from the T-Mobile USA. According to the Washington-filed indictment, Huawei also offered rewards for employees who were successful in acquiring technology from rival companies.

Meng Wanzhou is already accused of helping the company cover up sanction violations related to Iran. Back in December, she was detained in Canada while the United States government continues the work on her extradition.

Last year saw Huawei take the title of second-largest maker of smartphones in the world. It’s not the first time a Chinese company is accused of stealing intellectual property from the United States rivals. There are civil lawsuits against Huawei back from 2014. Interestingly enough, one of them is exactly filed from T-Mobile and is believed the be the primary reason for the newly opened investigations.

In that particular case, the company was charged with misappropriating robotic technology from a T-Mobile lab in Bellevue. An official statement by Huawei claimed that the issue was resolved in an undisclosed settlement back in 2017.

This is not the first offence of Huawei

Earlier this week however, prosecutors mentioned that the company was in possession of photos of the robots. Additionally, the robots were also carefully measured and some pieces were stolen.

According to Huawei, the two employees responsible, were acting “out of line”. Needless to say, with the compiled evidence, the Justice Department quickly pursued criminal charges.

Experts are cautiously monitoring the situation as any slight change in relations could affect the trade war negotiations between China and the United States.

The economic slowdown in China and the trade war have made the stage far more delicate for new and developing companies from the country. The developing companies are also struggling despite the huge surge in investment money coming from VC firms.

You can also check out: