Huawei Trial Puts Meng Wanzhou’s Iran Disclosures Back Under Scrutiny

A former HSBC executive who met directly with Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou testified this week in the Chinese telecommunications giant’s federal criminal trial, raising new questions about representations Meng made about Huawei’s business dealings in Iran more than a decade ago.

Alan Thomas, HSBC’s former deputy head of global banking for Asia-Pacific, testified Sept. 30 in federal court in Brooklyn about an August 2013 meeting with Meng, according to Reuters courtroom records.

The meeting sits at the center of U.S. prosecutors’ longstanding claim that Huawei misled international banks about its relationship with Skycom Tech, a company that operated in Iran. Meng herself is not on trial. She entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department in 2021 and agreed to a statement of facts describing false representations she made to the bank.

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Huawei’s assurances proved hollow

Thomas met Meng in Hong Kong on Aug. 22, 2013, after reports raised questions about links between Huawei and Skycom and Skycom’s activities in Iran. Meng delivered a presentation describing Skycom as a Huawei “partner,” a “business partner of Huawei,” and a “third party Huawei works with.” She also said Huawei had once owned Skycom but had “sold all its shares.”

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According to Meng’s agreed statement of facts, those statements were false. Huawei had transferred Skycom from one Huawei-controlled entity to another, Canicula Holdings, while continuing to control its operations. Between 2010 and 2014, Skycom conducted approximately $100 million in U.S.-dollar transactions through HSBC that cleared through the United States.

Thomas testified that he largely accepted Meng’s explanation at the time. According to courtroom reporting by Inner City Press, he said Huawei’s Iran operations appeared small relative to a company generating roughly $40 billion in annual revenue.

“I thought they were compliant,” Thomas testified. Meng had also told HSBC that Huawei “operates in Iran in strict compliance with applicable laws, regulations and sanctions,” according to the statement of facts. The Justice Department says that representation was also untrue.

Huawei challenges what HSBC already knew

Huawei’s defense has sought to show that HSBC was already aware of significant connections among Huawei, Skycom and Canicula. During cross-examination, Thomas was questioned about HSBC records and acknowledged that he did not take notes or prepare a formal report of his meeting with Meng. The bank continued pursuing substantial business with Huawei after concerns about Iran had surfaced.

The broader defense argument is that HSBC’s existing knowledge undermines prosecutors’ contention that Meng’s representations exposed the bank to sanctions-related risk. Prosecutors, however, maintain that general awareness of Huawei’s business in Iran was different from knowing that Huawei secretly controlled Skycom and that Iran-related transactions were flowing through the U.S. financial system.

Huawei has denied that its senior leadership orchestrated criminal wrongdoing. The company faces broader federal charges that include allegations of racketeering, sanctions violations and theft of trade secrets.

Trial comes amid financial pressure

The legal battle is unfolding as Huawei faces increasing pressure on profitability despite continued revenue growth. Huawei reported first-half 2026 revenue of 467.8 billion yuan, up 9.6 percent from a year earlier. Net profit, however, fell roughly 36 percent to about 23.8 billion yuan as research spending and other costs climbed.

Meanwhile, research and development spending rose to 121.4 billion yuan, accounting for nearly 26 percent of revenue. Operating cash flow also swung sharply negative, to approximately 39.9 billion yuan from positive 31.2 billion yuan during the same period a year earlier. The figures illustrate the cost of Huawei’s effort to reduce its dependence on foreign technology and expand its capabilities in artificial intelligence, advanced chips, smartphones and automotive systems.

They also complicate a simple picture of recovery. Huawei’s revenue continues to grow, but costs are rising faster, profits have fallen for a second consecutive first half, and Washington’s technology restrictions continue to shape its spending strategy.

For Huawei, the Brooklyn case therefore revives a legal dispute rooted in events more than a decade old at a time when the company is already committing enormous resources to navigating U.S. technology restrictions and rebuilding its supply chain.