Swan.my.id - Jakarta, Huawei moved US$1.3 billion from an account in London just five days after the United States formally indicted the Chinese technology giant, according to an international journalistic investigation published Thursday, September 17, 2026.
The transfer took place on February 2, 2019, during a weekend holiday. Confidential documents reviewed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) reportedly show that nine bank employees were called in on a Saturday to complete the transaction within several hours.
The funds, worth around Rp20 trillion, were withdrawn from the London branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). Internal records reportedly show that the bank’s Beijing headquarters ordered the transaction to proceed despite concerns raised by compliance officers.
Huawei US$1.3 billion transfer raised compliance concerns
Five days before the transfer, the US Department of Justice had filed criminal charges against Huawei. The company was accused of fraud, violating international sanctions, and money laundering.
Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou had also been arrested in Canada at the request of the United States. Against that backdrop, ICBC London’s anti-money laundering officers reportedly warned that Huawei might be attempting to move its assets before US authorities could freeze them.
“There is a possibility Huawei is attempting to move the funds to avoid asset freezing by US sanctions investigators,” an ICBC London anti-money laundering officer wrote in an internal report.
Despite the warning, the transaction went ahead. Compliance staff in London reportedly asked management to delay the transfer until the origin of the funds could be clarified. However, the request was rejected, and the money was moved outside normal working hours without a full review.
Beijing headquarters ordered the transaction to proceed
ICBC is China’s largest state-owned bank. The documents reportedly describe Huawei as a “strategic client” that received preferential treatment, with strict review procedures sometimes set aside following directions from Beijing.
After the withdrawal, the bank reportedly opened a new account for Huawei in another country to facilitate further movement of the company’s funds. The events have raised questions about how a state-owned Chinese bank balanced local compliance obligations with instructions from its headquarters.
An observer cited in the investigation said Chinese state-owned banks operate under rules that differ from those followed by other international banks. The observer said that when faced with a choice between local regulators and directives from Beijing, Beijing prevailed.
Huawei’s wider relationship with ICBC
The investigation also reported that ICBC had provided more than US$2 billion in loans for Huawei projects across several countries since 2003. Those projects included operations in Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa, and India.
The financing helped Huawei offer network equipment at low prices around the world while expanding China’s technological influence across multiple continents. Consequently, the US$1.3 billion transfer has been presented as more than a routine banking transaction.
Nearly seven years after the transfer, Huawei’s trial began in New York this week. Prosecutors alleged that the company had operated for decades through deception and fraud, describing Huawei as a criminal organization. The defense rejected those accusations and said the company’s success came from hard work rather than criminal conduct.
The case now places the movement of Huawei’s funds, the role of ICBC, and the relationship between state-backed finance and strategic companies under renewed scrutiny.
