The Justice Department announced criminal charges Monday against Chinese-based Huawei Technologies Co., the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the world.
The two indictments were unsealed Monday — in Brooklyn, N.Y., and in Washington state — and accuse Huawei, the company’s Executive Board Director Meng Wanzhou, and two affiliates of money laundering, bank fraud, wire fraud, and violating U.S. sanctions on Iran.
In New York, the government alleged Huawei, the two affiliated companies, and Meng committed bank fraud and conspiracy.
Specifically, Meng allegedly made a presentation in August 2013 to an executive of one of Huawei’s major banking partners in which she repeatedly lied about the relationship between Huawei and Skycom. Skycom is an Iranian company, and U.S. law prohibits banks operating in the country from processing transactions related to Iran.
The 10-count indictment in Washington accuses the company of stealing trade secrets from T-Mobile USA, specifically its phone testing robot dubbed “Tappy.”
Meng has been detained in Canada since December. The Justice Department said it will be filing an extradition treaty for Meng as soon as Tuesday.
Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said the misconduct goes “all the way to the top of the company.”
The charges are likely to put pressure on already tense diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and China. The world’s two largest economies are in the middle of a trade war, and talks are set to resume this week.
“These charges lay bare Huawei’s alleged blatant disregard for the laws of our country and standard global business practices,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Companies like Huawei pose a dual threat to both our economic and national security, and the magnitude of these charges make clear just how seriously the FBI takes this threat. Today should serve as a warning that we will not tolerate businesses that violate our laws, obstruct justice, or jeopardize national and economic well-being.”
The use of Huawei’s products by the U.S. federal government is mostly restricted.
