Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn allege that Huawei ran a racketeering enterprise that deceived banks about its Iran business and stole trade secrets from U.S. companies. Huawei has pleaded not guilty, and a jury trial on 12 remaining counts began on September 8, 2026, with testimony starting on September 10, 2026. The trial is expected to run about three months.
Latest development Oct 15, 2026
On October 15, 2026, a former FBI agent testified before the Brooklyn jury about a 2007 interview with Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei. The agent said Ren told him Huawei had no direct dealings with Iran and respected intellectual property rights.
Why it matters
The jury will decide whether Huawei and its subsidiaries are criminally liable for what prosecutors describe as two decades of fraud, sanctions evasion, and trade-secret theft. The verdict will affect Huawei and its U.S. subsidiaries and could bear on U.S.-China trade relations.
Background
In August 2018, federal prosecutors indicted Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and Skycom Tech Co., Ltd. under seal in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The case arose from a years-long FBI and grand jury investigation into Huawei’s use of Skycom, a Hong Kong shell company, to do business in Iran. Prosecutors allege that Huawei misled HSBC and other global banks about the relationship. In December 2018, Canadian authorities arrested Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, in Vancouver at the request of the United States. China then detained two Canadians in an episode widely seen as retaliatory.
In January 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed the indictment. It also unsealed a companion case over alleged trade-secret theft from T-Mobile in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. In March 2019, Huawei and its U.S. subsidiary pleaded not guilty to the 13-count indictment. A February 2020 superseding indictment added a racketeering conspiracy charge under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). It also charged a conspiracy to steal trade secrets from U.S. companies including T-Mobile and Cisco, alongside the original bank fraud, wire fraud, sanctions, and money laundering counts.
In September 2021, Meng entered a deferred prosecution agreement, admitted to a statement of facts about misleading a bank, and left house arrest in Vancouver for China. Prosecutors moved to dismiss the charges against Meng in December 2022 after she complied, but the corporate case against Huawei and its subsidiaries continued. Huawei has long argued that the racketeering theory strings together unrelated events, that some alleged conduct is impermissibly extraterritorial, and that the indictment is unconstitutionally vague. In July 2025, Judge Ann M. Donnelly rejected the core of those arguments and denied Huawei’s motion to dismiss most of the original counts. In June 2026, the court ruled that Meng’s 2021 admissions could be used as evidence against the corporate defendants at trial.
On September 4, 2026, prosecutors dropped two export-control counts and one trade-secret predicate tied to a company widely identified as Motorola, leaving 12 counts for the jury. Jury selection began in Brooklyn on September 8, 2026, for a trial expected to run roughly three months, and opening statements followed the next day. From September 10, 2026, witnesses addressed alleged theft of Fujitsu technology and Amazon cloud-platform code and alleged misuse of Quintel Technology intellectual property. On October 7, 2026, a former FBI agent read to the jury Meng’s statement of facts admitting that she misled HSBC about Huawei’s ties to Skycom. On October 15, 2026, a former FBI agent testified that Ren Zhengfei, Huawei’s founder, said in 2007 that Huawei had no direct dealings with Iran and respected intellectual property rights.
The trial opened just over two weeks before a planned meeting between President Trump and President Xi Jinping. It is unfolding as Huawei anchors China’s push toward chip and AI self-sufficiency.
Timeline 16 events
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HearingFormer FBI agent testifies on 2007 Ren Zhengfei interview
The agent told the Brooklyn jury that Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei had said the company had no direct dealings with Iran and respected intellectual property rights.
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HearingMeng Wanzhou’s bank-fraud admission read to jury
A former FBI agent who had worked the case read the statement of facts into the trial record. In it, Meng admitted that she misled HSBC about Huawei’s relationship with Skycom.
US jury hears Huawei finance chief's bank fraud admission at company's trial
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HearingFormer engineer testifies on alleged Amazon cloud IP theft
A former Huawei U.S. subsidiary engineer testified that a colleague boasted of using patented code from Amazon’s cloud computing platform without authorization.
Huawei Ripped Off Amazon Cloud Platform IP, Jury Hears - Law360Former Engineer Tells Huawei Jury a Colleague Boasted of Taking Code Used in Amazon's Cloud Platform
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HearingTrial testimony begins on alleged Fujitsu trade-secret theft
The trial entered its evidentiary phase with testimony about alleged trade-secret theft from Fujitsu. Witnesses described a 2004 incident in which a Huawei engineer was allegedly caught covertly photographing Fujitsu fiber-optic technology at a Chicago trade show.
Huawei racketeering trial enters second day of testimonyHuawei Staff Caught Spying at Trade Show in 2004
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HearingProsecution and defense deliver opening statements
Justice Department trial attorney Taylor Stout told jurors Huawei’s conduct amounted to two decades of “theft, lies, cover-up.” Defense attorney Brian Heberlig of Steptoe called the case one of competition rather than conspiracy.
US trial against China's Huawei opens with prosecutor calling the company a criminal enterpriseHuawei's US racketeering trial opens with prosecutors calling it a criminal enterprise
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HearingJury selection begins in Brooklyn
Jury selection opened before Judge Donnelly, with prospective jurors completing lengthy questionnaires probing views on China and Iran.
Huawei racketeering trial begins in Brooklyn federal courtHuawei goes on trial in US for racketeering after nearly decade of litigation
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OrderProsecutors narrow the case before trial
The government dropped two International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) export-control counts and a trade-secret theft predicate tied to a company widely identified as Motorola. That left 12 counts for the jury.
Huawei Racketeering Trial Opens After US Prosecutors Shrink CaseHuawei Racketeering Trial Begins in Brooklyn Federal Court
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OrderCourt rules Meng’s 2021 admissions admissible against Huawei
The court ruled that admissions Meng Wanzhou made in her 2021 statement of facts under her deferred prosecution agreement could be used as evidence against the corporate defendants at trial.
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OrderJudge Donnelly denies bid to dismiss core charges
Judge Donnelly rejected Huawei’s motion to dismiss most of the original counts, ruling prosecutors had sufficiently alleged that Skycom operated as a Huawei-controlled Iranian subsidiary.
Huawei Trial Begins in New York Over Fraud and Racketeering Charges
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OrderProsecutors move to dismiss charges against Meng Wanzhou
Meng had complied with the deferred prosecution agreement. The dismissal removed her as a defendant while the corporate case continued.
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SettlementMeng Wanzhou enters deferred prosecution agreement and returns to China
Meng admitted to a statement of facts about misleading a bank regarding Huawei’s Iran dealings. She entered the agreement with the Justice Department and was released from house arrest in Vancouver.
Huawei Executive Resolves Criminal Charges in Deal With USOffice of Public Affairs | Huawei CFO Wanzhou Meng Admits to Misleading Global Financial Institution
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FilingSuperseding indictment adds RICO and trade-secret theft charges
Prosecutors added a racketeering conspiracy charge and a conspiracy to steal trade secrets from multiple U.S. companies. The new charges joined the original fraud and sanctions counts.
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OrderHuawei pleads not guilty to 13-count indictment
Huawei and its U.S. subsidiary were arraigned before Judge Donnelly in Brooklyn and pleaded not guilty to all counts. Attorney James Cole entered the plea on the company’s behalf.
Huawei pleads not guilty to US charges of bank fraud and violating Iran sanctions in case that triggered a global firestormHuawei pleads not guilty to U.S. charges it violated Iran sanctions
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FilingDOJ unseals twin indictments against Huawei
One indictment, in the Eastern District of New York, covered bank fraud and Iran sanctions evasion. The other, in the Western District of Washington, covered trade-secret theft from T-Mobile.
Office of Public Affairs | Chinese Telecommunications Conglomerate Huawei and Huawei CFO Wanzhou Meng Charged With Financial FraudTrade Compliance Flash: Leading Chinese Telecommunication Provider Huawei Technologies Indicted in Two Separate Cases
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OtherCanadian authorities arrest Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver
The arrest, made at the request of the United States, triggered a diplomatic rift between Washington, Ottawa, and Beijing.
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FilingProsecutors file sealed indictment against Huawei in Brooklyn
Federal prosecutors charged Huawei and Skycom in a sealed indictment, later unsealed alongside a companion case.
United States v. Huawei Technologies Co., LTD, 1:18-cr-00457 – CourtListener.com
Experimental AI forecast
How it is madeWill the jury in United States v. Huawei return a verdict on at least one count by March 31, 2027?
- Jury returns verdict in Huawei trial80%
- Still pending on March 31, 202711%
- Huawei trial ends without a verdict9%
- Resolves by
- Mar 31, 2027in 5 months
- Record confidence
- Medium
A jury verdict on at least one count by March 31, 2027, is most likely, at 80%. Testimony has run since September 10, 2026, the trial is expected to last about three months, and the deadline leaves several months of margin for overruns, deliberations, and holiday breaks.
How it resolves. Resolves to “Jury returns verdict in Huawei trial” if court records or reliable reports show the jury returned a verdict on at least one count against any corporate defendant by March 31, 2027, whatever its content. Resolves to “Huawei trial ends without a verdict” if the trial ends before any verdict through mistrial, hung jury on all counts, dismissal, or any negotiated resolution. Otherwise resolves to “Still pending on March 31, 2027.”
Reasoning
Starting point. Federal criminal jury trials that have begun, including long multi-defendant corporate fraud and racketeering trials: Most federal jury trials that start reach a verdict on at least one count. Full mistrials or hung juries on every count occur in roughly 5% to 10% of trials.
Federal criminal trials that reach the evidentiary phase usually end in a verdict on at least one count. Hung juries on every count and mistrials are uncommon. This trial began on September 8, 2026, with an estimated three-month length, which points to deliberations around December 2026. The March 31, 2027, deadline allows for typical overruns in complex corporate trials with foreign evidence and many witnesses. Twelve counts make a total hung jury less likely, because a partial verdict on any count resolves the question. The main path to no verdict is an end to the trial before deliberations, such as a mistrial, dismissal, or a negotiated corporate resolution tied to wider U.S.-China relations. Huawei has contested the case for over eight years, which limits that risk. Schedule slippage beyond March 2027 is the leading alternative, at 11%. Nothing in the record since the October 11, 2026, forecast moved any outcome by five points or more. Recent testimony kept the trial on its expected course.
Trial underway since September 2026 with three-month estimate · Twelve counts make a partial verdict likely · Possible schedule overruns in a complex corporate trial · U.S.-China diplomacy could prompt a mid-trial resolution · Low base rate of mistrials and total hung juries
Generated automatically by Claude Opus 5.5 on Oct 16, 2026 from this case’s record on this site, and published without editorial review. The probabilities are the model’s judgment, not measured frequencies, and they are scored publicly as cases resolve. Not legal or investment advice. How the forecasts are made