Huawei Faces New York Racketeering Trial Over Trade-Secret Theft and Sanctions Violations

A federal jury will be empaneled in New York to hear a racketeering case against Huawei Technologies, alleging the Chinese giant stole U.S. trade secrets, plotted further theft, and engaged in wire and bank fraud. The indictment also claims Huawei and subsidiaries conducted prohibited business in North Korea and supplied surveillance gear that aided Iranian authorities during the 2009 protests. Prosecutors allege the firm used the Hong-Kong shell Skycom to evade sanctions and that CFO Meng Wanzhou deceived HSBC about the Iran transactions, leading to her 2018 arrest in Canada and later release in a prisoner swap.

Huawei’s defense seeks dismissal, contending the accusations are vague, extraterritorial and unrelated to domestic fraud. The trial follows longstanding U.S. security concerns that resulted in bans on Huawei equipment for U.S. carriers and blacklisting by allies, prompting the company to expand into AI-driven chip production. The outcome could shape future enforcement of technology-related sanctions and impact Huawei’s global market ambitions.