ZTE could resolve bribery allegations by paying $1 billion to US government

"ZTE is reportedly closing in on a deal to resolve its foreign bribery allegations by way of a $1 billion payment to the U.S. government. According to a new Reuters News report, the U.S. Department of Justice has an ongoing investigation into ZTE's violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) across several regions, with U.S. officials now working on a resolution that would involve a $1 billion payment."

"ZTE faces multiple bribery allegations under the FCPA for allegedly bribing officials across several regions to secure telecom contracts. According to people familiar with the ongoing DOJ investigation into ZTE, the most recent bribery allegations date back to 2018 and involved questionable telecom deals in South America and, more specifically, Venezuela. ZTE issued an official statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which confirmed the reports of ongoing communication with the U.S. DOJ."

"In 2017, ZTE pleaded guilty to illegally exporting U.S. technology to Iran and North Korea, which resulted in a $1.2 billion fine. A year later, the U.S. Department of Commerce banned U.S. companies from exporting components like chips and software to ZTE for a period of 7 years. In 2020, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designated ZTE as a national security threat and further restricted its access to U.S. networks while also blocking federal subsidies to carriers using ZTE network equipment."

ZTE is reportedly close to settling alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act with a $1 billion payment to the U.S. government. The U.S. Department of Justice maintains an investigation into alleged bribery across multiple regions. The most recent allegations reportedly date to 2018 and involve telecom deals in South America, including Venezuela. ZTE confirmed ongoing communications with the DOJ via a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing. Any settlement would require approval from the Chinese government because ZTE is partially state-owned. ZTE previously pleaded guilty in 2017 to illegal exports and subsequently faced export restrictions and FCC security designations and bans.

Read at GSMArena.com