Chris Wattie/Reuters
In a pair of indictments unsealed Monday, the Trump administration filed criminal charges against China’s Huawei Technologies—including conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice. According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. accused the company of several crimes, including violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and stealing trade secrets from its competitor T-Mobile. Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer, was also accused of misleading U.S. banks about Huawei’s Iranian business deals. Wanzhou was arrested in Canada late last year and the Justice Department is seeking to have her extradited. “For over a decade, Huawei employed a strategy of lies and deceit to conduct and grow its business,” Richard Donoghue, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said at a press conference.
Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker stated that Huawei was also accused of “concealing and destroying evidence” and “moving potential government witnesses to China.” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the U.S would not tolerate Huawei’s support of an “odious regime”—referring to its violation of Iran sanctions. FBI Director Christopher Wray called the actions of Huawei’s leadership “pervasive” activity that sought to “criminally undermine” the U.S.