US judge rules Huawei must answer criminal charges about alleged Iran deal

A US judge has ruled that Huawei must stand trial following a 16-count indictment from 2019 accusing the Chinese telecommunications company of trying to steal trade secrets from its US rivals and selling surveillance equipment to Iran despite trade sanctions, according to a report by Reuters. A trial is currently set for May 4, 2026.

US District Judge Ann Donnelly found sufficient evidence in the indictment to refute the company's bid for dismissal. In a 52-page decision, the Brooklyn judge ruled that its arguments for dismissal were premature. The indictment alleges that Huawei engaged in racketeering, stole trade secrets from six companies and committed bank fraud by misleading the financial organizations about its work in Iran.

The Iran accusations stem from Huawei's alleged control over a Hong Kong-based company called Skycom, which did business in that country. Donnelly said that prosecutors successfully alleged that Skycom "operated as Huawei's Iranian subsidiary and ultimately stood to benefit" from over $100 million in money transfers through the US financial system.

Huawei has pleaded not guilty and sought to dismiss 13 of the 16 counts, referring to itself as "a prosecutorial target in search of a crime." The case goes all the way back to 2019 during President Trump's first term and coincided with the Department of Justice launching an investigation into China's alleged theft of intellectual property.

Chinese officials have accused the US government of "economic bullying" and of using national security concerns as a pretext for "oppressing Chinese companies." The company's CFO Meng Wanzhou, whose father founded the company, was arrested and detained in Canada for three years on allegations that Huawei violated sanctions with Iran. Wanzhou was eventually released and the charges were dismissed.

The US government began restricting Huawei's access to American technology in 2019, citing security concerns. The company struggled to maintain its market share with these restrictions in place, but has since ramped up its own development of chips and related technologies. The company also shifted its focus to the Chinese market.

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