The US Justice Department has filed charges against Huawei and its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.
According to the BBC, the Chinese manufacturer has been charged with bank fraud, obstruction of justice and theft of technology.
Huawei and Meng deny the allegations. Meng was arrested in Canada in December at the request of the US for allegedly dodging sanctions on Iran.
“For years, Chinese firms have broken our export laws and undermined sanctions, often using US financial systems to facilitate their illegal activities. This will end,” said US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
Huawei said it “denies that it or its subsidiary or affiliate have committed any of the asserted violations of US law set forth in each of the indictments” and that it “is not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms Meng, and believes the US courts will ultimately reach the same conclusion.”
Charges
The charges allege Huawei misled the US and a global bank about its relationship with two subsidiaries, Huawei Device USA and Skycom Tech, to then carry out business with Iran.
Under president Donald Trump the US reinstated all sanctions on Iran that were remvoed in 2015 and have hit the country with even stricter measures affecting oil exports, shipping and banks.
Secondly Huawei were charged with stealing technology from T-Mobile used to test smartphones durability, as well as obstructing justice and committing wire fraud. The alleged stolen technology is known as ‘Tappy’ which imitates human fingers to test devices.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said: “These charges lay bare Huawei’s alleged blatant disregard for the laws of our country and standard global business practices,”
Mr Wray said companies like Huawei “pose a dual threat to both our economic and national security”.