Financial prosecutors raid Huawei offices in France

Paris: The French offices of Chinese tech giant Huawei were searched this week, the company confirmed on Friday, saying it is fully cooperating with the authorities, a media report said.

A French judicial source said that the raids had been carried out as part of a preliminary probe launched by the financial prosecutor’s office over alleged “breach of probity", a broad term concerning offenses such as acts of corruption, favouritism and influence peddling, CNN reported,

The source did not provide any further details about the investigation. A preliminary investigation does not imply any wrongdoing.

The Shenzhen-based firm said the search had taken place on Tuesday.

“Huawei has been in France for over 20 years, and has been in compliance with the laws and regulations applicable in the country. While Huawei France does not wish to comment on an ongoing investigation, the company remains confident about its conclusions,” a company spokesperson said, CNN reported.

In 2020, the company had announced that it would build a factory in France making wireless communications equipment, with a 200 million euro ($215 million) investment and manufacturing 1 billion euro ($1.08 billion) worth of products annually.

A number of European countries later either banned Huawei from their 5G telecom networks, or restricted the company’s role in the networks.

Speaking to the French public radio in December, Minggang Zhang, Deputy General Manager of Huawei France, said the factory would begin operations by the end of 2025 in the Alsace region, CNN reported.