El juicio en Nueva York que puede costar millones a Huawei

A federal court in New York may cost Huawei billions of dollars following a criminal case. The U.S. Department of Justice accuses the Chinese tech giant of bribing employees to steal valuable information from competitors. Employees could send encrypted material to a special mailbox. This is one of several charges forming the core of a criminal case against Huawei, a company whose revenue reached $127 billion last year.

The case gained prominence during Donald Trump's first term as U.S. president, and it will now go to trial in New York. Prosecutors claim Huawei operated like a criminal organization involved in activities ranging from deceiving bankers about its business in Iran to hiding a T-Mobile robot's arm in a portable bag. Huawei denies the accusations, which span two decades, and accuses the U.S. of pursuing a judicial persecution aimed at a crime.

The trial is expected to last several months, potentially complicating Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Washington this month. During Trump's presidency, the case was seen as part of potential negotiations with China. Craig Singleton, an expert on U.S.-China relations at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, notes that Huawei's case is of great significance due to its intersection with technological competition, Iran sanctions, and U.S.-China diplomacy.

The trial will take place in New York, where federal prosecutors have handled several important international cases, including a previous fraud case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and a corruption case involving FIFA officials. If found guilty, Huawei could face some of the largest corporate fines ever imposed in the U.S. The company already faces certain restrictions, banned from acquiring certain foreign technology since 2019, but a conviction could deter banks from conducting business with the company.

Over the past decade, U.S. administrations have intensified pressure on Huawei, imposing export controls on chips to curb its technological advancement and measures that effectively removed its equipment from the U.S. market. However, Huawei's tech empire has expanded rapidly since Washington imposed sanctions in 2019, venturing beyond telecommunications infrastructure into new markets like electric vehicles and artificial intelligence.

The company has sought to protect itself from future U.S. restrictions by localizing its supply chains and entering new markets through new brands or associated companies. Huawei stated in court documents that when the lawsuit was filed, Trump and his administration made it clear that the ultimate goal of prosecuting Huawei was to pressure the U.S.-China trade war.

Huawei claims in court documents that when the lawsuit was filed, Trump and his administration made it clear that the ultimate goal of prosecuting Huawei was to pressure the U.S.-China trade war. The narrative general of the U.S. government is false. Long-term investment in innovation, backed by the utmost respect for intellectual property, has been the driving force behind Huawei's commercial success, the company stated in a court filing.

It claims to have been among the world's six largest companies in R&D investment for nine consecutive years. Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's finance director and daughter of its founder, Ren Zhengfei, is not being prosecuted, but she is expected to play a significant role in the process. She was arrested in Vancouver in 2018 and released in 2021 after admitting to deceiving HSBC about Huawei's operations in Iran.

Prosecutors obtained permission to present the confession document to the jury as part of a deal that ended the case against her. Meng's detention affected diplomatic relations between the U.S., Canada, and China. Her release coincided with the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, Canadians detained in China in apparent retaliation for Meng's arrest, though Chinese authorities denied any connection.

A factual statement from the Department of Justice, to which Meng agreed, alleges that Huawei deceived banks about a company called Skycom, which operated mainly in Iran. Huawei claims it knowingly sold all its shares in Skycom to a company controlled by Huawei, while the document states that Huawei sold Skycom shares to banks, who then provided prohibited services to Huawei's Iran operations.

According to the formal accusation against four Huawei entities, including two in the U.S., the company used coded names for sanctioned jurisdictions, designating Iran as "A2" and North Korea as "A9." Its representatives concealed Huawei's involvement in numerous projects in North Korea from the banks. Huawei also allegedly helped the Iranian government install surveillance equipment used to control, identify, and detain protesters during the 2009 anti-government protests. Huawei argues that the Justice Department is lumping together various alleged crimes.