According to the DOJ announcement released today three companies: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Huawei Device USA Inc. and Skycom Tech Co. Ltd. are charged with bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and conspiracy to violate IEEPA, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Huawei and Huawei USA are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice related to the grand jury investigation in the Eastern District of New York.

Additionally Ms. Meng Wanzhou is charged with bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracies to commit bank and wire fraud. Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker, Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Wilbur Ross of the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Attorney Richard P. Donoghue for the Eastern District of New York, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers of the National Security Division, announced the charges: </s> The U.S. Justice Department on Monday announced two indictments against the Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei, which it said is accused of theft of trade secrets, obstructing justice, and lying to banks over its alleged non-compliance with U.S. sanctions against Iran.



Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said a grand jury in Seattle had returned an indictment alleging 10 federal crimes on the part of two Huawei affiliates related to an alleged “concerted effort to steal information about a robot that T-Mobile used to test mobile phones.”

Whitaker said Huawei engineers had violated confidentiality agreements by “secretly taking photos of the robot, measuring it, and even stealing a piece of it.” The robot, nicknamed “Tappy,” is used to perform durability tests on phones sold by T-Mobile, according to an earlier report by the Wall Street Journal.

A grand jury in New York separately returned an indictment for 13 additional crimes allegedly committed by Huawei, a U.S. subsidiary (Huawei USA), and an Iranian affiliate (Skycom). Additionally, Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Canada in December at the U.S. government’s request, was charged in what Whitaker described as criminal activity spanning more than a decade, going “all the way to the top of the company.”

Specifically, Huawei and Skycom are charged with bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and conspiracy to violate IEEPA, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the DOJ. Further, as part of an investigation in the Eastern District of New York, Huawei and its U.S. subsidiary are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Whitaker said the U.S. is currently seeking an extradition order in Canada for Meng, who has said she is innocent of charges, which include bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit both.

“As early as 2007, Huawei employees allegedly began to misrepresent the company’s relationship with its Iranian affiliate, which is called Skycom,” said Whitaker. “Huawei employees reportedly told banking partners that Huawei had sold its ownership interest in SkyCom. But these claims were false. In reality, Huawei had sold Skycom to itself.”

The reason for Huawei’s deception, Whitaker said, was to conceal the fact that the company was not in compliance with American sanctions. “These alleged false claims led banks to do business with the company, and therefore to unknowingly violate our laws,” he said, adding the one bank had “facilitated more than $100 million worth of Skycom transactions through the United States in four years.”

Huawei is also accused of lying to the U.S. government and obstructing justice, he said, including by concealing and destroying evidence and moving potential witnesses back to China and therefore out of the reach of U.S. prosecutors.

“As charged in the indictment, Huawei and its Chief Financial Officer broke U.S. law and have engaged in a fraudulent financial scheme that is detrimental to the security of the United States,” said Homeland Security Kirstjen Secretary Nielsen. “They willfully conducted millions of dollars in transactions that were in direct violation of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, and such behavior will not be tolerated.”

Huawei did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment on the charges and related allegations. </s> The Trump administration on Monday brought criminal charges against Huawei for alleged theft of trade secrets, wire fraud and breach of sanctions, among other violations.

In 23 indictments, filed in federal court in Brooklyn and Seattle, the U.S. claims that Huawei sought to steal confidential information from T-Mobile from 2012 to 2014, and that executives at the top brass of the company were aware of the effort. The government also alleges that the Chinese firm misrepresented its ownership of an Iranian affiliate called Skycom. The U.S. has sanctions against doing business in Iran.

The list of defendants includes Huawei's Chief Financial Officer Wanzhou Meng, who was arrested in Canada last month and is facing extradition to the U.S. A formal extradition request is expected to be filed by Tuesday, according to acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker.

The decision marks a dramatic escalation in the global efforts to curb the operations of the telecommunications firm that U.S. officials say effectively operates as a conduit for Chinese espionage.

"We need more law enforcement cooperation with China. China should be concerned about criminal activity by Chinese companies and China should take action," Whitaker told reporters.

The charges also come as officials from the U.S. and China are prepared to meet in Washington D.C. this week to continue discussions on a trade deal between the two nations. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders on Monday said the charges will not influence the ongoing talks.

In 2012, Huawei allegedly began to steal information on a new robot T-Mobile was building to test phones. Employees at the firm -- which was trying to build its own phone-testing machine -- took covert photos and stole parts of the robot so engineers in China could replicate it, the suit says. Huawei also offered employee bonuses contingent on the level of stolen information, according to emails obtained by the FBI.

“The charges unsealed today clearly allege that Huawei intentionally conspired to steal the intellectual property of an American company in an attempt to undermine the free and fair global marketplace,” Director Christopher Wray said. “The FBI will not tolerate corrupt businesses that violate the laws that allow American companies and the United States to thrive.”

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In 13 additional indictments filed separately in Brooklyn, the U.S. claims that Huawei engaged in "conspiracy to commit bank fraud" and money laundering, bank fraud and "conspiracy to obstruct justice" by lying about its ownership of Skycom, which the firm said it sold.

Meng, along with other Huawei employees, "continued to lie to Huawei's banking partners" about its relationship with Skycom, the suit says, also opening up the financial institutions to possible civil or criminal penalties for processing transactions related to Iran through the U.S. When Huawei learned of the federal government's investigation into Skycom, the firm allegedly tried to move witnesses outside of U.S. jurisdiction and destroy evidence of its Iranian operations.

“For years, Chinese firms have broken our export laws and undermined sanctions, often using U.S. financial systems to facilitate their illegal activities,” said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. “This will end." </s> US authorities unveiled Monday a sweeping set of 23 criminal charges against the Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co in a new escalation of tensions between the United States and China that are slated to resume trade talks this week.

The charges contained in two indictments announced Monday accused Huawei and its chief financial officer and owner’s daughter Meng Wanzhou, who is the custody of Canadian authorities on an extradition request from the US, with bank fraud, violation of US sanctions on Iran, theft of trade secrets and obstruction of justice.

The charges came ahead of negotiators from the two countries meeting here on later in the week to resume talks to resolve trade tensions triggered by President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum at first and subsequently on billions worth of imports from China, which has retaliated in equal measure. Trump is expected to meet Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who is leading the Chinese delegation, some time during the talks.

“Today we are announcing that we are bringing criminal charges against telecommunications giant Huawei and its associates for nearly two dozen alleged crimes” acting attorney general Matthew G. Whitaker told reporters at a news briefing. “As I told Chinese officials in August, China must hold its citizens and Chinese companies accountable for complying with the law.”

Huawei has said it was disappointed by the charges and its request to the US department of justice to discuss the case against Meng was “rejected without explanation”.

In Beijing, government spokesperson Geng Shuang said US charges were driven by “political motivations” and added that, “We urge them to treat Chinese enterprises in a fair and just way.”

Beijing has imprisoned two Canadians and sentenced a third Canadian held on drug-smuggling charges to death in apparent retaliation to Meng’s arrest in Canada, but Chinese authorities have denied they were linked.

The first indictment containing 13 charges, returned by a New York grand jury, Huawei and other defendants, including Meng, pertain to the company’s businesses and dealings in Iran, and its efforts to circumvent US sanctions. It is alleged to have misled multiple global banks and the United State about its ties to Skycom, an Iranian affiliate that it claimed was a separate company after Huawei sold its stakes in it, in 2007.

When, in fact, the United states has alleged Huawei had sold Skycom to itself, through a company it controlled. “As part of this scheme to defraud, Meng allegedly personally made a presentation in August 2013 to an executive of one of Huawei’s major banking partners in which she repeatedly lied about the relationship between Huawei and Skycom,” the US department of justice said in a statement on the indictment.

The Chinese telecom giant, which relied on global banks to process its US dollar transactions through the US, lied to these institutions which would have otherwise refused to process them given US laws and regulation on companies doing business with Iran, in violation of its sanctions. One bank, the indictment said, cleared more $100 million of Skycom-related transactions through the United States between 2010 and 2014, years of a crippling sanctions regime imposed and enforced by the UN and the United States. The sanctions were lifted in 2015 following an agreement to halt Iran’s nuclear programme. President Trump reimposed the sanctions in 2018, but these are US curbs, with no backing from the UN.

In the second indictment, returned by a grand jury in Seattle, Washington, Huawei Device Co., Ltd. and Huawei Device Co. USA are accused of 10 charges related to theft of trade secrets, wire fraud and obstruction of justice.

The affiliates are accused to trying to steal information on a robot used by T-Mobile, a US company, to test phones, called “Tappy”. Huawei personnel are alleged to have taken pictures of the device and measurements and even tried to steal a piece from it for Huawei engineers to duplicate.

When caught, Huawei blamed the theft on “rogue actors”, the US department of justice said, and sought to deny the company’s role in it. But prosecutors have said it was in fact a part of a company-wide effort and alleged Huawei actually rewards employees for stealing trade secrets.

Huawei has been blocked from selling telecommunications equipment in the United States since a 2012 congressional report raised fears of its products being used to spy on Americans. Many other countries remained suspicious of the company,

India has harboured similar reservations about the company, but allowed it to participate in field trials of 5G equipment last December. </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption The US has laid 23 charges against Chinese telecoms firm Huawei

The US Justice Department has filed a host of criminal charges against Chinese telecoms giant Huawei and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou.

The charges against the world's second largest smartphone maker include bank fraud, obstruction of justice and theft of technology.

The case could ratchet up tensions between China and the US, and impact the firm's global expansion efforts.

Both Ms Meng and Huawei deny the allegations.

Ms Meng was arrested in Canada last month at the request of the US for allegedly evading sanctions on Iran.

"For years, Chinese firms have broken our export laws and undermined sanctions, often using US financial systems to facilitate their illegal activities. This will end," said US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

In a statement, Huawei rejected the charges, saying it didn't commit "any of the asserted violations" and that it "is not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms Meng".

It said the allegations were already the subject of a settled civil suit, in which a jury found "neither damages nor willful and malicious conduct on the trade secret claim".

What are the charges?

The indictment 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 case alleges Huawei stole technology from T Mobile used to test smartphone durability, as well as obstructing justice and committing wire fraud.

The T-Mobile tech, 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".

What's the context?

Huawei is one of the largest telecommunications equipment and services providers in the world, recently passing Apple to become the second biggest smartphone maker by volume after Samsung.

But the US and other Western nations have been concerned that the Chinese government could use Huawei's technology to expand its spying ability, although the firm insists there is no government control.

The arrest of Ms Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, infuriated China.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Meng Wanzhou is the daughter of the company's founder

She was arrested on 1 December in Canada's western city of Vancouver at the request of the US.

She was later granted a C$10m (£5.7m; $7.6m) bail by a local court. But she is under surveillance 24 hours a day and must wear an electronic ankle tag.

Chinese 'national champion' faces US justice

Analysis by Karishma Vaswani, Asia business correspondent

Huawei is what the Chinese call a national champion. A private firm, tasked with China's ambitions to go into the world and lead the way.

But now the full force of the US justice system is being hurled at the firm.

The allegations by the US Department of Justice are the most serious Huawei has ever seen, and go to the heart of the trade war between China and the US.

Huawei has consistently denied the allegations, and the firm's boss says it is being used as a pawn in power games between the US and China.

While the US says the charges against Huawei aren't about trade war, it is unlikely the Chinese will see it the same way.

The charges come as the US and China prepare to hold high-level trade talks in Washington this week.

US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross stated that the Huawei charges were "wholly separate" from ongoing trade negotiations with China.

However, the indictment focuses on the alleged theft of US technology, which has been a major sticking point in trade negotiations.

President Trump's administration has imposed tariffs on $250bn (£190bn) worth of Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to respond with its own tariffs.

Both countries agreed last month to suspend new tariffs for 90 days to allow talks. </s> Washington/Beijing, Jan 29 (IANS) The US Justice Department has filed a host of criminal charges, including bank fraud, obstruction of justice and theft of technology against Chinese tech giant Huawei and its detained Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, a move decried by Beijing as “unjustified repression”.

A 13-count indictment filed on Monday in New York City against Huawei, two affiliates and Meng detailed allegations of bank and wire fraud. The company was also charged with violating Washington’s sanctions on Iran and conspiring to obstruct justice related to the investigation, the US media reported.

Both Huawei and Meng deny the allegations. The case could ratchet up tensions between Washington and Beijing and impact the firm’s global expansion efforts.

“We are announcing that we are bringing criminal charges against Huawei and its associates for nearly two dozen alleged crimes,” US acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said in a statement.

“The criminal activity in this indictment goes back 10 years and goes all the way to the top of the company. China must hold its citizens and Chinese companies accountable for complying with the law,” he was cited as saying by the New York Times.

The Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry said it was very “concerned” about the criminal complaint filed by the US Justice Department against Huawei and Meng who was arrested in Canada on December 1 at the request of the US for allegedly evading sanctions on Iran.

Meng has been since released on bail and her travel is confined to Vancouver and surrounding areas. She could face up to 30 years if found guilty on all counts.

On Monday evening, the Canadian Justice Department said it had received a formal request for Meng’s extradition to the US to stand trial. The request came even as Beijing pressured Ottawa to release her.

In a statement, Huawei rejected the charges, saying it didn’t commit “any of the asserted violations” and that it “was not aware of any wrongdoing by Meng”.

“The US government and China have an extremely complex, multifaceted relationship. Our client, Sabrina Meng, should not be a pawn or a hostage in this relationship,” said Huawei attorney Reid Weingarten.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said: “For some time, the US has used its government power to discredit and crack down on specific Chinese companies in an attempt to stifle their legitimate operations.”

“We strongly urge the US to stop the unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies, including Huawei, and treat them objectively and fairly,” he was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

The indictment alleged that 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 had 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 case alleged that Huawei stole technology from T Mobile USA used to test smartphone durability, as well as obstructing justice and committing wire fraud.

The T-Mobile tech, known as Tappy, mimicked human fingers to test phones. In all, the US filed 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray.

The charges came as the two countries’ leaders seek to end their months-long trade dispute, with China’s lead trade negotiator, Liu He, scheduled to meet US officials in Washington in coming days. </s> U.S. prosecutors filed criminal charges against Huawei Technologies, China’s largest technology company, alleging it stole trade secrets from American rival T-Mobile USA and committed bank fraud by violating sanctions against doing business with Iran.

Huawei has been the target of a broad U.S. crackdown, including allegations it sold telecommunications equipment that could be used by China’s Communist Party for spying. The charges filed Monday also mark an escalation of tensions between the world’s two largest economies, which are mired in a trade war that has roiled markets.

In a 13-count indictment in Brooklyn, New York, the government alleged Huawei, two affiliated companies and Chief Financial Officer Wanzhou Meng of bank and wire fraud as well as conspiracy in connection with business in Iran.

A 10-count indictment in Washington state accused the company of stealing trade secrets from T-Mobile and offering bonuses to employees who succeeded in getting technology from rivals.

That charge builds on a 2014 civil suit by T-Mobile in which it claimed Huawei sought to replicate a cellphone-testing robot, nicknamed Tappy, that after its employees illicitly obtained parts, software and specifications from T-Mobile’s Bellevue lab. A jury later awarded T-Mobile $4.8 million for the misappropriated trade secrets.

The twin criminal cases “expose Huawei’s brazen and persistent actions to exploit American companies and financial institutions, and to threaten the free and fair global marketplace,” Christopher Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said at a press conference in Washington announcing the charges.

Huawei didn’t respond immediately to requests for comment on the allegations.

Prosecutors in Manhattan said that Huawei concealed its relationship with Skycom Tech Co. Ltd, a company in Iran, in violation of U.S. laws. Meng “personally made a presentation in August 2013 to an executive of one of Huawei’s major banking partners in which she repeatedly lied about the relationship,” prosecutors said in a statement announcing the charges. Skycom was also charged.

Charges include bank and wire fraud, conspiracy and violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. In addition, Huawei and Huawei USA are accused of conspiring to obstruct justice.

Prosecutors also alleged that Huawei began a “concerted effort” in 2012 to steal information from T-Mobile and even offered bonuses to employees who could get their hands on the technologies of rivals.

When T-Mobile’s civil suit was filed in 2014, a U.S. Huawei spokesman blamed the episode on “two Huawei employees acting inappropriately in their zeal to better understand the customer’s quality testing requirements,” and said they had been fired.

However, the criminal indictment unsealed in Seattle describes a constant stream of demands from Huawei’s headquarters in China that its employees in Bellevue obtain information that T-Mobile declined to provide.

Huawei engineers secretly took photos of T-Mobile’s robot, took measurements of parts of the robot and, in one instance, stole a piece of the robot, prosecutors said.

Meng, 46, the daughter of the company’s founder, was arrested in Canada Dec. 1 on allegations that she committed fraud to sidestep sanctions against Iran. Meng is free in Vancouver, staying at her $4.2 million mansion with GPS monitoring, after posting bail of C$10 million ($7.5 million) as she fights extradition to the U.S. to face criminal charges.

The U.S. is asking that the Canadian authorities extradite Meng. Canada’s justice minister then has up to 30 days to assess the request. If he issues an “authority to proceed,” that means Canada is officially moving to extradition hearings. If so, they would likely be scheduled months later.

Tech giant Huawei reportedly target of U.S. criminal probe for trade secrets theft </s> Canadian authorities have arrested the chief financial officer of China’s Huawei Technologies for possible extradition to the United States.

Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Saturday, Justice Department spokesman Ian McLeod said.

Mr McLeod said a publication ban had been imposed in the case and he could not provide further details.

The ban was sought by Meng, who has a bail hearing on Friday, he said.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that US authorities are investigating whether Chinese tech giant Huawei violated sanctions on Iran.

Meng is also deputy chairman of the board and the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei. </s> The Trump administration’s efforts to extradite the chief financial officer of China’s Huawei Technologies Co. over criminal charges mark the start of an even more aggressive phase in the technology rivalry between the U.S. and China and will increase pressure on Washington’s allies to shun the telecommunications company.

Armed with a U.S. extradition request, Canadian authorities arrested Meng Wanzhou on Dec. 1, the same day as President Trump was holding a summit with Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping. But White House officials said Mr. Trump had no advance knowledge of the arrest, indicating the action was on a separate track from trade talks currently under way between Washington and Beijing.

Ms. Meng’s detention underscores a sense of urgency, at the Justice Department and other U.S. agencies, to address what they see as a growing threat to national security posed by China’s ambitions to gain an edge in the tech sector. For years, Washington has alleged the Chinese government could compel Huawei, which supplies much of the world with critical cellular network equipment, to spy or to disrupt communications.

Huawei has long said it is an employee-owned company and isn’t beholden to any government, and has never used its equipment to spy on or sabotage other countries. The Chinese government, speaking through its embassy in Canada, strenuously objected to the arrest, and demanded Ms. Meng’s immediate release.

U.S. prosecutors made the extradition request based on a sealed indictment for alleged violations of Iran sanctions that had been prepared for some time, people familiar with the matter said. A federally appointed U.S. overseer, formerly charged with evaluating HSBC Holdings PLC’s anti-money-laundering and sanctions controls, relayed information about suspicious Huawei transactions to federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York, some of the people said.

Ms. Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, is now in custody in Vancouver, and a bail hearing has been scheduled for Friday, according to a spokesman for Canada’s justice department.

Some worried a lack of coordination on the various strands of the Trump administration’s China initiatives could be counterproductive, especially if Mr. Trump decides to use the detention of Ms. Meng as leverage to extract concessions in the trade talks. The two sides agreed on a 90-day window from the Dec. 1 summit to settle a trade dispute that has seen the two sides exchange tit-for-tat tariffs on each other’s goods.

“I’m very concerned that that’s just going to ratchet this trade war and make negotiations much more difficult,” said Gary Locke, former U.S. ambassador to China. “This is I think a really hot-button, almost a grenade with respect to the 90-day negotiations.”

China has a long history of reading darker motives into U.S. actions. “The risk is conspiracy theories in Beijing,” said China scholar Michael Pillsbury at Hudson Institute, who consults regularly with the Trump trade team. He compares the events to when China rejected U.S. explanations that the U.S. had made a mistake when it bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in 1999 during the Kosovo war.

The arrest indicated the Justice Department had significant evidence against Ms. Meng, and that additional charges were likely, said Brian Fleming, a trade and national security lawyer at Miller & Chevalier. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

The arrest could also add ammunition to an extraordinary U.S. government campaign to persuade wireless and internet providers in allied countries to stop using telecommunications equipment from Huawei, said national security experts.

U.S. officials say they are intensifying efforts to curb Huawei because wireless carriers world-wide are about to upgrade to 5G, a new wireless technology that will connect many more items—factory parts, self-driving cars and everyday objects like wearable health monitors—to the internet. U.S. officials say they don’t want to give Beijing the potential to interfere with an ever-growing universe of connected devices.

The campaign is bearing some fruit, with Australia in August banning Huawei from its 5G networks, and New Zealand last week blocking one of its major wireless carriers from using Huawei. In Britain, BT Group PLC said Wednesday that it was removing Huawei equipment from its network, two days after a British intelligence chief questioned whether the country should be using the Chinese gear.

Still, not all countries are on board. Major telecommunications carriers say Huawei offers the most products and often customizes them to fit their needs. They also cite lower costs and high quality.

The indictment could give U.S. officials more talking points in discussions with counterparts in Germany, where some officials have signaled a new wariness toward Huawei but haven’t committed to cutting ties yet, according to people familiar with the matter. U.S. officials have so far been unwilling to share all the detailed specifics about why they believe Huawei products present such security risks, but the indictment could offer a new argument to use with skeptics, according to one of the people.

Canadian officials have yet to decide their stance on Huawei, but their cooperation with the extradition was likely to further increase pressure on them, one of the people said. On Tuesday, the day before news of Ms. Meng’s arrest broke, the head of Canada’s spy agency said state-sponsored economic espionage and cyber threats now pose a potentially greater challenge to the country than terrorism, warning that foreign actors are already targeting the domestic technology and telecommunications sectors.

—William Mauldin, Peter Nicholas, Rachel Louise Ensign, Stu Woo and Paul Vieira contributed to this article.

Write to Kate O’Keeffe at kathryn.okeeffe@wsj.com and Bob Davis at bob.davis@wsj.com
The United States Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Commerce and Federal Bureau of Investigation announces 23 criminal charges against China's telecom Huawei and its chief financial officer Wanzhou Meng, which include banking and financial fraud, money laundering, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, theft of trade secret technology, provided bonus to workers who stole confidential information from companies around the world, obstruction of justice and sanctions violations.