Polish authorities arrested two individuals accused of conducting espionage on behalf of the Chinese government, as reported by Polish TV channel TVP.
One of them is a Chinese man who is Huawei’s sales director in the country, while the other is a Polish national and employee of the telecom provider Orange Polska. The network has collaborated with Huawei to build its 5G network.
The arrests come amid fears that Huawei equipment could be used to spy on behalf of the Chinese government when used to build a country’s communications infrastructure. The US has reportedly considered explicitly banning the use of the company’s equipment from such networks, and it has also pressured its allies to do the same.
The root of the concern can be traced back to the National Intelligence law enacted in China in 2017. The law states that Chinese organizations and citizens are expected to, “support, cooperate with, and collaborate in national intelligence work.” Huawei’s close ties with the Chinese government have also been scrutinized, despite Huawei insisting that it operates independently.
The Accused
The New York Times reports that the Polish government has identified the Huawei employee as Weijing W who joined Huawei in 2011. He previously worked for the Chinese consulate in Poland.
Meanwhile, the Polish national has been identified as Piotr D., previously employed at Poland’s internal security agency (ABW) before leaving due to corruption allegations. The deputy head of Poland’s special services, Maciej Wasik, said that Piotr had access to information about the country’s secure internal communications systems while at the ABW.
Polish authorities have searched the homes of both men, along with the offices of Huawei, Orange, and the Polish telecommunications regulator. If found guilty, both men could face prison sentences of up to 10 years.
In a statement, Huawei said that it “complies with all applicable laws and regulations in the countries where it operates, and we require every employee to abide by the laws and regulations in the countries where they are based.”
The Chinese foreign ministry said it was, “highly concerned” about the arrests.
