[ad_1]
The United States announced on Monday a criminal case against the Chinese company Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, an escalation of the fight with the world's largest manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, which denies the wrongdoing and a few days before the trade talks with Beijing.
The Justice Ministry has accused Huawei and his financial director of conspiring to violate US sanctions against Iran by doing business through a subsidiary that he has. was trying to hide, which was reported by Reuters in 2012.
In another case, the Justice Ministry said Huawei stole T-Mobile US Inc.'s robotic technology. Huawei said the companies settled their dispute in 2017.
The financial director of Meng Wanzhou, daughter of the founder of Huawei, was arrested in Vancouver on December 1st. China then arrested two Canadians for reasons of national security. She denied having committed a wrongdoing and is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday to discuss changes to her bail conditions.
Late Monday, the CBC public broadcaster stated that the United States had formally requested extradition, citing the Department of Justice Canada.
Huawei said that he was "disappointed" to learn these accusations. He stated that he had sought to discuss it with the US authorities "but the request was rejected without explanation".
"The company denies having denied having committed any of the alleged violations (itself, its subsidiary or subsidiaries) (…), is aware of any wrongdoing of Ms. Meng and believes that the US courts will finally reach the same conclusion. "
The Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed "grave concern" and urged the United States to abandon the arrest warrant and put an end to the "unreasonable removal" of Chinese companies.
This development is likely to disrupt the talks between Beijing and Washington this week as part of negotiations to ease trade tensions between the world's two largest economies.
US President Donald Trump said in December that he could intervene in the case of Meng if it would serve the interests of national security or help to conclude a trade agreement with China.
US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said the charges were "totally separate" from trade negotiations.
The Minister of Justice of Canada will have 30 days from receipt of the request for extradition to decide whether or not to grant leave to prosecute. If the case were accepted, Meng's case would be referred to the Supreme Court of British Columbia for an extradition hearing, which could take weeks or even months.
MARKET RESTRICTION
Huawei manufactures equipment, including base stations, switches and routers, as well as consumer products such as smartphones, and generates nearly half of its total business revenue outside of China.
The United States, trying to prevent US companies from buying Huawei equipment, is trying to prevent its companies from doing the same. US security experts fear that the Chinese government will use the machine as spying, a concern that Huawei calls baseless.
Australia and New Zealand have followed the US initiative to restrict market access in the past year. On Tuesday, TPG Telecom Ltd canceled the Huawei-based mobile phone network it was building, the first commercial victim of the Australian move.
Huawei has claimed to be the world's largest supplier of 5G technology and has won 30 contracts worldwide, more than any other competitor, including 18 in Europe.
The impact of US expenses on its operations is unclear. Last year, ZTE Corp. was prevented from buying essential components from US companies after pleading guilty to similar charges, paralyzing his activities.
ZTE has resumed its usual activities after paying fines of up to $ 1.4 billion and replaced all of its board, in addition to a fine of nearly $ 900 million paid in 2017.
BANKING RELATIONS
The acting Attorney General of the United States, Matthew Whitaker, said that the alleged criminal activities in Huawei "go back at least 10 years and reach the pinnacle of society." sell goods to Iran.
The indictment stated that the financial institutions relied on Huawei's denials in the stories "to determine whether to continue their banking relationship with Huawei and its subsidiaries."
The indictment involved a meeting in August 2013 between Meng and an officer of an unidentified bank. Sources told Reuters that the bank was HSBC Holdings PLC, which had paid $ 1.92 billion in 2012 for violating US laws against money laundering and sanctions.
During the meeting, Meng improperly presented Huawei 's operations in Iran, as well as the ownership and control of Skycom, revealed the indictment.
The Department of Justice confirmed that HSBC was not under investigation in this case, HSBC said in a statement released last month.
Also according to the indictment, in July 2007, the FBI interrogated Huawei 's founder, Ren Zhengfei, and US authorities claimed that he had falsely claimed that Huawei did not want to be told. had not violated the US export laws.
The indictment concerning the theft of trade secrets alleged that Huawei had an official policy instituting a bonus program to reward employees who stole confidential information from their competitors.
FBI director Christopher Wray said the Huawei cases, filed in New York and Washington, "expose Huawei's shameless and persistent actions to exploit US companies and financial institutions and to threaten the free and just".
[ad_2]
Source link
