Reuters has uncovered corporate filings and other documents showing close links between Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei and two shell companies in Iran.
The documents appear to support US allegations that Huawei violated economic sanctions against Iran and deceived international banks into approving transactions worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
It is these accusations that led to the detention of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou by Canadian authorities in December. The US claims that Meng fraudulently claimed that two companies – a telecom equipment seller in Tehran and its holding company registered in Mauritius – were independent of Huawei.
The latest documents show that one of the company’s Iran managers had the same name as a senior Huawei executive. There was also evidence of Huawei-linked bank accounts in Iran, signed by Chinese-named individuals, dated in 2012 and 2013.
According to US authorities, Huawei continued to use one of the companies – named Skycom – to sell products to Iran and receive payments via the international banking system.
Reuters also uncovered reports that Meng served on the Skycom board of directors in 2008 and 2009.
Since Meng’s arrest in a Canadian airport, Huawei has insisted on her innocence. The Chinese government also stated that they found no evidence of her wrongdoing after reviewing the case.