China sentences 14 former Huawei employees for tech theft

The Shanghai No. 3 Intermediate People's Court has issued guilty verdicts against 14 former Huawei employees, finding them guilty of unlawfully appropriating confidential information related to the development of Huawei’s semiconductor subsidiary, HiSilicon, as reported by GizmoChina.

According to the court, the defendants left Huawei to establish their own company, Zunpair Communication Technology, which allegedly used stolen chip technologies for commercial purposes. The court confirmed the unlawful use of intellectual property belonging to Huawei.

As a result of the proceedings, the defendants received prison sentences of up to six years, along with monetary fines. The exact amounts of the fines have not been disclosed.

As of publication, the full text of the court’s decision has not been made public, and it remains unclear whether the convicted individuals intend to appeal. Huawei representatives have not commented on the verdict.

HiSilicon Technologies Co. is a Huawei subsidiary specialising in semiconductor development.

By Vugar Khalilov