Huawei accuses US of overlooking HSBC misconduct to go after Chinese firm
19 February, 2020
US prosecutors overlooked obvious violations folks sanctions against Iran by HSBC Holdings in trade for the British bank's cooperation with a good federal government investigation of Huawei Technologies, legal representatives for the Chinese telecoms giant said.
"The government decided to overlook HSBC's continued misconduct, electing not to punish the bank, prosecute its executives and even extend the monitorship," Huawei's lawyers wrote in a Feb 10, 2020 letter filed in US District Court in Brooklyn, NY. The letter was noticed by Reuters on Tuesday (Feb 18).
In return, "HSBC decided to cooperate with the government's efforts to depict Huawei as the mastermind of HSBC's sanctions violations and offer witnesses to the government's stalled investigation of Huawei," the attorneys wrote.
Within an indictment unsealed this past year, Huawei was charged by the United States with bank fraud and violating sanctions against Iran. Federal prosecutors added even more charges to the case this month.
The indictment accuses Huawei and its own chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, of conspiring to defraud HSBC and other banks by misrepresenting Huawei’s relationship with Skycom Tech, a suspected front company that operated in Iran.
The brand new claims by Huawei relate with a five-year deferred prosecution agreement HSBC decided to in 2012 for disregarding rules made to prevent money laundering and processing transactions that violated sanctions.
Huawei's lawyers declare that, after HSBC attained the deferred prosecution arrangement, the lender continued to procedure Iran transactions through its NY branch and concealed the carry out from a court-appointed keep an eye on. It also failed as past due as 2017 to put into practice compliance measures it had promised so as to secure the agreement.
"The Justice Section determined that HSBC met most of its obligations, including its sanctions obligations, under its 2012 Deferred Prosecution Contract," the lender said in a affirmation.
Huawei has pleaded not liable. Meng, the child of Huawei's founder, was arrested in Canada on a US warrant in connection with the case. She's said she is innocent and is fighting extradition.
Reuters exclusively reported last February that HSBC conducted a study into Huawei's connections with Skycom that helped cause the fees against the Chinese firm.
Huawei is seeking documents from the HSBC investigation of the business and reviews from the keep an eye on, which it says "appear certain" to contradict the allegations in the indictment.
A spokesman for federal prosecutors in Brooklyn declined to comment.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com