Huawei Employee Arrested in Poland After Being Accused of Spying for China
Last updated May 27, 2021
- Two individuals were arrested in Poland over their involvement in espionage activity for the Chinese government.
- One of the individuals is from China and works at Huawei while the other is a Polish national working at Orange Polska.
- If found guilty, the individuals could be sentenced to prison for up to 10 years.
With Huawei being dragged into controversy after the company was suspected of espionage activities for the Chinese government, one of the company’s employees has been arrested in Poland. The employee who is the head of sales for Huawei in Poland was arrested along with a Polish national who works at Orange Polska. Orange and Polska have worked together to bring 5G to the country. The recent arrests occurred shortly after Huawei’s CFO was arrested last year in Canada. She has failed to prove her innocence so far and was released on bail earlier this month.
The arrested Huawei employee worked with the Chinese Consulate in Gdansk, Poland before joining the Chinese tech company in 2011. The Polish national who was also arrested worked at the internal security agency (ABW) and was forced to resign over corruption charges. The individual was known to have access to the Polish internal communications systems during his stay at the ABW.
Most of the controversy surrounding Huawei started soon after the National Intelligence Law was passed in China. The legislation forces citizens and organizations to work with the Chinese intelligence network and the company’s relationship with the government has been questioned in the US and abroad. The company has failed to prove its innocence so far, and the US government is considering putting a ban on Chinese products.
If the individuals are found guilty, they may face prison sentences going up to 10 years. Huawei tried to defend its position by stating that it “complies with all applicable laws and regulations in the countries where it operates, and we require every employee to abide by the laws and regulations in the countries where they are based.”
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