China’s Huawei reportedly targeted in U.S. probe

U.S. federal prosecutors are reportedly working on a criminal investigation into Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

Investigators are looking into whether the firm stole trade secrets from U.S. business partners, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing unidentified sources.

The Journal reported that the probe was spurred in part by civil litigation between Huawei, which makes phones and other telecom equipment, and T-Mobile. TMobile had accused Huawei of stealing information related to a robot used for testing mobile phones.

The Journal reported that the criminal probe is at an “advanced stage.”

Huawei declined to comment to CNN Business on Wednesday.

The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN Business.

The report was published one day after the reclusive founder of Huawei, Ren Zhengfei, shrugged off allegations from Washington that Huawei is a threat to U.S. national security.

He denied allegations from the Trump administration and U.S. intelligence agencies that Beijing could use Huawei equipment to snoop on Americans. The company has also been prevented from supplying nextgeneration 5G equipment to Australia and New Zealand.

Huawei has attracted even greater scrutiny following the arrest of its chief financial officer, Mr. Ren’s daughter Meng Wanzhou, last month in Canada.

She’s accused by the United States of helping Huawei cover up violations of sanctions on Iran, according to Canadian prosecutors. Ms. Meng was released on bail in mid-December, setting her up for a lengthy legal fight over extradition to the United States.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry called Ms. Meng’s arrest “lawless, reasonless and ruthless.” Huawei has said in a statement that the company has “every confidence that the Canadian and U.S. legal systems will reach a just conclusion” in the case.