• A U.S. judge has ruled that Huawei must face criminal charges including racketeering and fraud.
• The court rejected Huawei's request to dismiss a 16-count federal indictment.
• Accusations involve stealing trade secrets and misleading banks regarding business dealings in Iran.
• Huawei maintains it is a target of a politically motivated prosecution.
• A trial is scheduled to commence on May 4, 2026.

A U.S. District Judge, Ann Donnelly, has ruled that Huawei Technologies must face a criminal case involving serious allegations including racketeering, technological theft, and fraud. In a recent decision, the judge dismissed Huawei's bid to dismiss most of a 16-count federal indictment, which outlines charges that the company misled banks about its operations in Iran and stole trade secrets from U.S. firms, according to South China Morning Post and Reuters.

Judge Donnelly's ruling emphasizes allegations that Huawei, through a Hong Kong company named Skycom, orchestrated transactions in Iran that violated U.S. sanctions, as it purportedly controlled Skycom, which acted as a subsidiary. The indictment details how this arrangement allegedly enabled over $100 million of transfers through the U.S. financial system, according to Reuters and India Times.

Huawei has denied all charges and called itself "a prosecutorial target in search of a crime," arguing that the accusations are vague and that some are improperly extraterritorial, implying that they do not pertain to U.S. jurisdiction. The legal battle follows a broader context of national security concerns raised during the U.S. government’s "China Initiative" under former President Trump, which aimed to protect American intellectual property from foreign threats, according to India Times and South China Morning Post.

A trial is set for May 4, 2026, where the proceedings could prolong over several months. This serves to underline the complexities of international business law amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and China, particularly vis-à-vis high-stakes technology firms like Huawei, which has been heavily impacted by U.S. sanctions, as highlighted by Reuters and India Times.