The Chinese telecom company ZTE is entering a hearing with the United States over a potential violation of probation.
ZTE was previously placed under probation for a separate offense. The probation was awarded in conjunction with monetary fines as part of a 2017 guilty plea for illegally providing Iran with technology from the U.S. The new violation involves visa fraud allegedly committed by the company.
Jeff Sessions, attorney general of the United States, commented on the case. According to a Department of Justice (DOJ) news release, Sessions said, “ZTE Corporation not only violated export controls that keep sensitive American technology out of the hands of hostile regimes like Iran’s; they lied to federal investigators and even deceived their own counsel and internal investigators about their illegal acts. This plea agreement holds them accountable and makes clear that our government will use every tool we have to punish companies who would violate our laws, obstruct justice, and jeopardize our national security. I am grateful to the justice department’s National Security Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, and the FBI for their outstanding work on this investigation.”
ZTE, a Chinese telecom giant, will go to federal court on March 14 to address accusations that the company violated its probation from the plea that was entered in 2017. That plea stemmed from charges that the company shipped American technology to Iran. The new allegation relates to a conspiracy to commit visa fraud.
An indictment unsealed last March charged a former ZTE research director in New Jersey and a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology with conspiring to bring Chinese nationals to the U.S. with J-1 visas, according to Reuters. After arriving in the U.S., the Chinese nationals allegedly went to work for ZTE in New Jersey. The professor, Gee-Kung Chang, pled not guilty. Jianjun Yu is a ZTE research director; his status is unclear. The company is not charged in the case.
In addition to federal charges, company executives likely also face the prospect of paying hefty fines. ZTE paid $892 million in fines in 2017 for violating U.S. laws by selling American technology to countries like North Korea and Iran.
As a result of the new charges, an additional 10 years of monitoring were added to a three-year probation period, Reuters said. ZTE paid $1 billion in fines after the U.S. Department of Commerce said the company lied about disciplining executives. The oversight and fine was a compromise to avoid the company being banned from business with U.S. suppliers, according to Reuters.
