Edward Marchesi The criminal trial against Huawei began on September 9 in federal court in Brooklyn, New York. The case, part of a long-running technology dispute between Washington and Beijing, has been heralded as one of the most significant criminal proceedings against a foreign company in recent US history.
The charges brought by the Department of Justice
According to the indictment, Huawei allegedly operated a criminal scheme that lasted nearly two decades, from 1999 to 2020, aimed at stealing trade secrets, defrauding banks, and circumventing sanctions against Iran. Prosecutor Taylor Stout opened the case with the words " Theft, lies, cover-up ."
Alleged technology thefts
Investigators allege that the Chinese company stole the source code for Cisco 's internet router and a robotic arm used by T-Mobile to test smartphones.
These activities would have been part of a broader intellectual property appropriation scheme by Huawei.
Iranian sanctions violations
The U.S. government also accuses Huawei of masking its operations in Iran by facilitating the transfer of U.S. dollars despite restrictions imposed by the Department of the Treasury.
It has also been suggested that the company supplied equipment capable of monitoring Iranian protesters during the 2009 protests.
Huawei's defense
Huawei, which denies any wrongdoing, has entered a not guilty plea. Its lawyer, Brian Heberlig, argued that the proceedings are a distortion of normal market activity, characterizing the charges as " competition, not conspiracy; innovation, not theft ." Heberlig accused prosecutors of " selecting isolated incidents to construct a false conspiracy."
According to the defense, the cited incidents involved individual employees, whose actions were handled internally and do not reflect company policy. The lawyer also argued that American judges often describe ordinary activities of large tech companies as criminal when presented out of context.
Political and diplomatic resonances
The trial coincides with Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington, scheduled for September 23-25, and risks impacting discussions on trade, artificial intelligence, and tariffs. A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Beijing firmly opposes the United States' "suppression and containment of Chinese enterprises."
In the broader context, Huawei was blacklisted in the US in 2019, during the Donald Trump presidency, on charges that its 5G devices could compromise national security. The company has consistently denied any use of its products for espionage.
The case also recalls the case of Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer, who was arrested in Canada in 2018 on a U.S. warrant for alleged Iran-related bank fraud. After a deferred prosecution agreement, Meng returned to China in 2021, and her statements were admitted as evidence in the present case.
Lately, attention has also extended to the semiconductor and artificial intelligence sectors. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, warned that Chinese dominance in AI could pose a "grave danger" to the United States, calling for technological restrictions to be maintained. China responded by accusing the US of "fear mongering" and fueling "cold competition."
The trial, expected to last about three months, represents a milestone in the struggle between the two powers for control of next-generation technologies and the definition of a new global economic order.