HSBC investigation led to charges against Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, after US demanded bank’s help
- Documents reveal that HSBC cooperated with US prosecutors after Justice Department formally demanded help in investigating Huawei’s Iran dealings
- At the time, HSBC was trying to get the US to dismiss criminal charges for the bank’s own misconduct involving US sanctions
An internal investigation by HSBC Holdings into Huawei Technologies’ connections to a suspected front company in Iran found that the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker maintained close financial ties to the firm years after purportedly selling the unit, documents show.
The HSBC probe of Huawei came in late 2016 and 2017 as the bank was trying to get the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to dismiss criminal charges for the bank’s own misconduct involving US sanctions.
The bank’s findings, which have not been made public but were reviewed by Reuters, were given in a series of presentations in 2017 to the DOJ.
The department used them to help bring its current criminal case against Huawei’s chief financial officer, Sabrina Meng Wanzhou.
She is accused of conspiring to defraud HSBC and other banks by misrepresenting Huawei’s relationship with the suspected front company, Skycom Tech Co Limited. Huawei has said Skycom was a local business partner in Iran, while the United States maintains it was an unofficial subsidiary used to conceal Huawei’s Iran business.