Hearings are scheduled to begin this week in New York in a new trial that will determine the extent of Huawei Technologies Co.’s culpability for stealing trade secrets from other companies and violating U.S. sanctions on Iran. Huawei’s legal representatives denied the allegations when they appeared in court.
Prosecutors said Huawei Technologies has not only caused damage to U.S. companies by stealing their intellectual property rights over the past 20 years, but has also abused the U.S. financial system to dominate the global telecommunications equipment market. The first accusations against Huawei in this area were made in early 2019, shortly after the daughter of Huawei CFO and company founder Meng Wanzhou was detained in Canada at the request of U.S. law enforcement officials. In addition to stealing intellectual property and using shell companies to violate U.S. sanctions, Huawei has been accused of financial manipulation. Company representatives strongly deny all of these accusations.
Meng only returned to China in 2021 after a plea deal in which she was forced to admit that she misled the U.S. banking system about her company’s compliance with Iran sanctions and U.S. export restrictions.
U.S. prosecutors maintain that Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. stole intellectual property from six U.S. and foreign companies, including Cisco, Fujitsu, Quintel Technology, T-Mobile and CNEX Labs. In addition, she was accused of stealing source code for network routers and active antenna software. Prosecutors cited an example in which a Huawei representative was caught trying to transmit to China photos depicting a robotic arm for equipment developed by T-Mobile. According to the prosecutor, “Huawei fosters crime and corruption as an important part of its business strategy.”.
Former Huawei employees and company representatives who may have suffered losses as a result of their actions have been called as witnesses in the case. In addition, the 18-member jury will hear comments from experts in the field of telecommunications technology. Huawei’s legal representative said the U.S. government was trying to unfairly make the company’s normal business activities look like criminal conduct. The individual incidents in which Huawei is suspected of stealing intellectual property rights are considered isolated and non-systemic. He said prosecutors relied on the testimony of unreliable witnesses. “Huawei’s success is not due to illegal activities, fraud or theft,” – emphasizes the company’s lawyer Brian Heberlig. Competition, innovation and business as usual have brought Huawei to its current heights, he added.
In the process, Huawei has been accused of doing business with North Korea and Iran to circumvent U.S. sanctions. If Huawei is found guilty after months of hearings, the company will have to pay financial damages, but the scale is unlikely to seriously damage the Chinese giant’s finances.
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