Chinese telecoms company, Huawei Technologies, has pleaded not guilty in a New York federal court to a number of different charges from the US.
Huawei, along with its CFO, Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested by Canadian authorities in December, denies US indictments that they violated sanctions against Iran and carried out bank and wire fraud.
Huawei lawsuit
Earlier this month, Huawei filed a lawsuit against the US government over a ban that restricts federal agencies from using its products.
Meng, who is charged in the case, is currently on bail in Vancouver as she awaits trial for extradition to the US. She has said that she is innocent of the charges and is fighting extradition.
At the arraignment in the US District Court in Brooklyn, James Cole, a US attorney for Huawei, entered the not-guilty plea on behalf of the company and its US subsidiary, Reuters reported.
In a 13-count indictment, unsealed on January 28th, Meng and Huawei are accused of conspiring to defraud HSBC and other banks by misrepresentation with suspected front company Skycom, a company that operated in Iran.
Huawei has always said that Skycom was a “local business partner”, but the US maintains that it was an unofficial subsidiary used to hide the company’s ties to business dealings in Iran.
At the arraignment, US attorney, David Kessler, said that prosecutors are in the process of serving Skycom with the charges.
Next court appearance
According to Reuters, a federal judge scheduled the next court appearance for the 4th of April.
The news comes as the US conducts an ongoing campaign to persuade its allies to shun Huawei.
Countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and the US have already banned Huawei’s equipment from their 5G networks, amid allegations Huawei kit could be used to spy on behalf of the Chinese government.
The Chinese telecoms company has repeatedly dismissed allegations of secret ties to the Chinese government.
