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The extension of the monitoring period relates to sanctions that were imposed against ZTE in 2017
A US court has extended the monitoring period imposed on Chinese kit manufacturer ZTE until 2022, according to a report on Reuters.
In 2017, ZTE pled guilty to charges of illegally shipping US technology to clients in Iran. As punishment, the company was ordered to pay a huge fine and had to submit to US monitoring of its business practices for three years.
In his ruling on the matter, U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade told a court in Dallas that ZTE had violated the terms of its probation and therefore extended the monitoring period until 2022.
It is important to note that ZTE is not being accused of committing any new violations. The violation mentioned by Judge Kinkeade – namely that ZTE lied about the disciplinary action it had taken against employees involved in the Iran scandal – is the same violation which saw the company pushed to the brink of bankruptcy earlier this year.
For this transgression, ZTE has already paid a $1 billion fine, set aside a further $400 million in escrow against future transgressions and submitted to a US backed reshuffling of its senior leadership team.
The extension of the company’s monitoring period to 2022 is merely a consequence of this previous transgression.
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