Huawei Charged in Racketeering Conspiracy and Conspiracy to Steal Trade Secrets; Temporary General License Extended –

On February 13, 2020, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (Huawei) and two of its U.S. subsidiaries were charged in U.S. federal court in Brooklyn, NY with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The DOJ indictment also adds charges that Huawei stole trade secrets from U.S. companies in order to gain access to U.S. technology that would help Huawei grow its business. DOJ describes that the theft enabled Huawei “to drastically cut its research and development costs and associated delays, giving the company a significant and unfair competitive advantage.” Charges also include violations of sanctions on Iran and North Korea by arranging sales through local affiliates in the sanctioned countries. Huawei allegedly concealed these transactions by using code names, such as “A2” for Iran and “A9” for North Korea. The indictment also alleges that Huawei employees lied about Huawei’s relationship with its affiliate Skycom, which provided surveillance technology to the Government of Iran…