March 7, 2017, Shenzhen, China - ZTE Corporation announced on Tuesday that it has entered into a global settlement with the U.S. government regarding its historical conduct relating to U.S. export controls and sanctions.
As part of the resolution, ZTE has agreed to a criminal and civil penalty of $892,360,064, and an additional penalty of $300,000,000 to BIS that will be suspended during the seven-year term on the condition that the company complies with the requirements in the agreement with BIS and that ZTE will continue to work with an independent compliance monitor and auditor.
While the agreement with OFAC takes effect immediately, the agreement with DOJ is pending approval from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Similarly, Court approval of the DOJ agreement is a prerequisite before BIS will issue its settlement Order.
"ZTE acknowledges the mistakes it made, takes responsibility for them, and remains committed to positive change in the company," said Dr. Zhao Xianming, Chairman and CEO of ZTE Corporation.
"Instituting new compliance-focused procedures and making significant personnel changes has been a top priority for the company. We have learned many lessons from this experience and will continue on our path of becoming a model for export compliance and management excellence. We are committed to a new ZTE, compliant, healthy and trustworthy."
Dr. Zhao was named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ZTE Corporation in April 2016 with a mandate to lead a new ZTE with a best-in-class export compliance program.
"The agreements we reached will enable us to move forward in a stronger position than ever before," continued Dr. Zhao. "We are grateful to all of our customers, partners, employees and stakeholders who have stood by us throughout this difficult time. With this agreement behind us and our compliance program firmly established, we can confidently grow our business with suppliers, continue to provide innovative technology solutions to our partners, and execute our growth strategies as a new ZTE."
"ZTE has made tremendous progress in building a world-class compliance program and I look forward to working with others in the company's leadership to further build and improve our operations and processes," said Matt Bell, who was appointed Chief Export Compliance Officer in November 2016. "We are creating a global team of experienced compliance professionals, and our compliance trainings have been strengthened and reinforced at every level of the company. We are constantly reviewing and improving policies and procedures to keep up with an ever-changing regulatory landscape andworking to reinforce the strategic business advantage a strong compliance program has in the marketplace. Our global legal and compliance professionals will continue to work together to identify risk across the company and continually improve the effectiveness of our overall compliance program."
Under Dr. Zhao's direction, ZTE remains focused on enhancing its procedures and controls and continuing to create a strong compliance culture throughout the organization. During recent months, the company has invested in extensive reforms to create a leading export compliance program.
