Huawei: Searches and arrests of counterintelligence in Poland

After Huawei has recently had to contend with major political problems in America, the Chinese company is now also coming under pressure in Europe. Polish authorities have announced that Huawei's offices were searched last Tuesday on charges of espionage and one employee of the company was arrested. In addition, a Polish cyber security expert has been in custody since Tuesday as well.

The arrested employee is the Chinese citizen Weijing W., who is said to have worked for the Chinese secret service. He and a Polish security expert are now being held in prison for 3 months following a court order to that effect. Should they be found guilty of espionage, this could mean a prison sentence of up to 10 years. Further details to the accusations are unfortunately not yet public.

In response to the searches and arrests, Huawei stated that the company will investigate the allegations and that it expects every employee to comply with local law.

These allegations come at a very bad time for Huawei. The company is already under pressure in America due to allegations of espionage. If these allegations are found to be true in Europe, it could mean massive business losses for Huawei, as some customers will probably prefer to switch to the competition rather than run the risk of being spied on.

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