US judge rules Huawei must face charges of fraud and racketeering
This week, a US judge has dismissed a request from Huawei to dismiss the majority
This week, a US judge has dismissed a request from Huawei to dismiss the majority of charges brought against it by the US government.
The indictment, which dates to January 2019, accuses Huawei and various subsidiaries of numerous crimes, including defrauding and misleading financial institutions, stealing intellectual properties from US companies, and money laundering.
Perhaps most notable among these charges are those related to illegally bypassing US sanctions on Iran and North Korea by trading via its partner company, Skycom. The issue notably came to a head in December 2018, when Huawei’s CFO, Meng Wanzhou – also the daughter of the company’s founder, Ren Zhengfei – was detained in Canada after the United States Department of Justice requested her arrest for allegedly circumventing US sanctions. What followed was a protracted extradition battle that saw Meng remain under house arrest in Canada for three years.
Meng was finally released in 2021, having reached a deferred prosecution agreement with the US government. As part of the agreement, Meng admitted having misled HSBC about the company’s dealings with Iran, in violation of US sanctions.
In addition to these sanction-related counts, indictment alleges that, between 2000 and 2018, Huawei had practised the “deliberate and repeated misappropriation of intellectual property” from US companies.
Huawei has denied all wrongdoing and had sought to dismiss all but 3 of the 16-count indictment levied against it, arguing that the counts variously lacked evidence, violated due process, or simply did not state a legal offense.
In a 52-page document, however, US District Judge Ann Donnelly rejected the motion.
“Dismissal of charges is an extraordinary remedy reserved for extremely limited circumstances implicating fundamental rights,” read the document, with Donnelly noting that Huawei’s arguments were premature when “it is not yet clear what the defendant did”.
Based on a prearranged schedule, the trial is expected to take place May 6, 2026.
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Author: Ernestro Casas -
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