A US District Judge in Brooklyn has decided that Huawei Technologies must go to trial after rejecting the Chinese telecom giant’s attempt to have the majority of a 16-count criminal indictment dismissed.
The charges include alleged racketeering, attempting to steal technology secrets from US competitors, and deceiving banks about its commercial activities in Iran.
The court found enough evidence to conclude that Huawei committed bank fraud, stole trade secrets from six businesses, and engaged in racketeering to build its brand.
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The allegations against Iran are based on Huawei’s purported influence over Skycom, a Hong Kong business that allegedly functioned as Huawei’s Iranian affiliate and profited from more than $100 million in sanctions-violating money transactions via the US financial system.
Huawei has pleaded not guilty to the allegations leveled against the company and sought to dismiss 13 of the 16 counts, referring to itself as “a prosecutorial target in search of a crime.”
The US government has been accused by Chinese officials of “economic bullying” and of “oppressing Chinese companies” by citing national security concerns.
