In a significant legal development, a US judge has rejected Huawei‘s bid to dismiss most of the charges filed by the US government. The indictment, which dates back to January 2019, accuses the telecom giant and its subsidiaries of substantial misconduct, including defrauding financial institutions and stealing intellectual property from US companies.
Of particular concern are allegations relating to violations of US sanctions on Iran and North Korea. Huawei allegedly circumvented these sanctions by trading through its associate company, Skycom. This issue gained prominence in December 2018 when the company’s CFO, Meng Wanzhou, was detained in Canada at the request of the US Department of Justice for purportedly breaching these sanctions. Meng’s arrest sparked a lengthy extradition struggle, keeping her under house arrest in Canada for three years.
In 2021, Meng was released after reaching a deferred prosecution agreement with US authorities. During the resolution, she acknowledged misleading HSBC about Huawei’s dealings with Iran, violating US laws.
Beyond the sanction-related counts, the indictment details a long-standing accusation of “deliberate and repeated misappropriation of intellectual property” by Huawei from 2000 to 2018. While the company denies all allegations, it aimed to dismiss all but three of the 16 charges against it, arguing the counts were either unsupported by evidence, breached due process, or did not constitute a legal offense.
However, US District Judge Ann Donnelly, in a detailed 52-page document, dismissed Huawei’s motion. “Dismissal of charges is an extraordinary remedy reserved for extremely limited circumstances implicating fundamental rights,” according to Judge Donnelly. She emphasized that the arguments were premature since “it is not yet clear what the defendant did.” The trial is tentatively set for May 6, 2026.
