Huawei Lawyers Accuse U.S. for Overlooking HSBC Misconduct

Huawei’s legal representatives claim that U.S. authorities had knowledge of the bank’s violations against Iran sanctions but chose not to pursue the matter.

In exchange, HSBC allegedly cooperated to support the American federal prosecutor’s case against the Chinese telecom tech giant.

The government agreed to overlook HSBC’s continued misconduct, electing not to punish the bank, prosecute its executives or even extend the monitorship,» according to a report citing a letter filed by Huawei’s lawyers. «[In return], HSBC agreed to cooperate with the government’s efforts to depict Huawei as the mastermind of HSBC’s sanctions violations and supply witnesses to the government’s stalled investigation of Huawei.»

This is the latest development in the legal battle involving allegations against Huawei of bank fraud and Iran sanction violations with more charges coming later this month. In an indictment unsealed last year, Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou – currently fighting extradition from Canada to the U.S. – was accused of defrauding banks by misrepresenting the smartphone maker’s relationship with Skycom Tech Co Ltd, a suspected front company in Iran.

The timing couldn’t be worse for HSBC’s interim chief executive Noel Quinn who is not only fighting to regain shareholder confidence after 2019 profits plummeted but also for his job, as the bank has yet to name a permanent chief.