Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has denied any wrongdoing after US prosecutors filed a host of criminal charges against the firm.
Huawei has also rejected criminal claims against its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Canada last month.
The charges filed against Huawei in the US include bank fraud, obstruction of justice and theft of technology.
The case could escalate tensions between China and the US.
In a statement, Huawei said it was “disappointed to learn of the charges brought against the company today”.
It said it did not commit “any of the asserted violations” and that it “is not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms Meng”.
The statement said the allegations of stealing trade secrets were the subject of a settled civil suit, in which a jury found “neither damages nor wilful and malicious conduct”.
What are the charges?
The indictment, announced on Monday, alleges Huawei misled the US and a global bank about its relationship with two subsidiaries, Huawei Device USA and Skycom Tech, to conduct business with Iran.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has reinstated all sanctions on Iran removed under a 2015 nuclear deal and recently imposed even stricter measures, hitting oil exports, shipping and banks.
A second indictment alleges Huawei stole technology from phone company T-Mobile used to test smartphone durability, as well as obstructing justice and committing wire fraud.
Huawei said it settled the dispute with T-Mobile in a civil case filed in 2014.
The firm’s technology, known as Tappy, mimicked human fingers to test phones.
In all, the US has laid 23 charges against the company.
“These charges lay bare Huawei’s alleged blatant disregard for the laws of our country and standard global business practices,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Mr Wray said companies like Huawei “pose a dual threat to both our economic and national security”.
At a briefing in Beijing, government spokesperson Geng Shuang said there were “political motivations” behind US attempts to “smear and suppress certain Chinese companies”.
“We urge them to treat Chinese enterprises in a fair and just way.”
BBC
