BROOKLYN, New York — Huawei’s American management warned employees they could be fired for collecting competitors’ confidential information after mainland China headquarters circulated a policy offering cash rewards for competitive intelligence, including product roadmaps, pricing and organizational information, according to Justice Department exhibits obtained by The Bureau.
The July 2013 documents, marked as government exhibits 16335 and 16336 in Huawei’s Brooklyn criminal trial, capture both the scale and reward structure of what prosecutors allege was a program to obtain competitors’ secrets, and the American operation’s response.
The policy tied payments to the confidentiality and importance of information, established a review process and directed staff to encrypt higher-tier submissions. Submissions were to be reviewed weekly and rewards paid monthly.
The English text says: “No punishment: everyone is encouraged to provide valuable competition info; no punishment.”
Two days later, an email from Jennifer Ponder, signed by Huawei Device USA’s management team, warned American employees against participating in the collection of competitors’ confidential material.
Read together, the documents provide a detailed view of evidence central to the government’s allegation that Huawei’s pursuit of competitors’ secrets extended beyond isolated employees. The policy describes an organized departmental system involving regional managers, headquarters reviewers, designated submission channels and recurring rewards.
Whether Huawei’s information-gathering system amounted to an organized theft program is a question the jury will have to consider.
