Huawei investigated by US for suspected sanctions breaches

The US Department of Justice is reportedly investigating whether Huawei Technologies has violated US sanctions over Iran. The news of a possible criminal investigation follows reports that both the US Department of Commerce and the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (‘OFAC’) have issued administrative subpoenas on the Chinese electronics giant over the export or re-export of US technology to Cuba, Iran, DPRK and Syria.

Huawei – the world’s second-largest producer of telecommunication equipment – has been attempting to make in-roads into the US market. In January, a deal under which US carrier AT&T would sell Huawei’s new smartphone, the Mate 10, was pulled. Prior to the deal, members of the US Senate and House intelligence committees sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (‘FCC’) raising concerns over the role of Chinese companies in the US telecommunications sector. Huawei has so far failed to shut down concerns by US lawmakers over its ties with the Chinese government.

In April, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (‘BIS’) renewed a denial of export privileges to one of Huawei’s competitors, ZTE Corporation, for a period of seven years. US persons and businesses are banned from dealing with ZTE, blocking its access to US-made components. BIS determined that ZTE made ‘false statements’ over disciplinary actions taken against employees of the company, and cited a ‘pattern of deception, false statements and repeated violations’ in ZTE’s dealings with the US government.