Huawei under U.S. scrutiny for dealings in Iran, North Korea and elsewhere

Huawei Technologies is reportedly the latest Chinese tech firm to come under scrutiny by the U.S. for doing business in markets such as Iran and North Korea.

The New York Times reported that the U.S. Commerce Department has subpoenaed Huawei, demanding that it turn over "all information regarding the export or re-export of American technology to Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria." The subpoena, which was sent to Huawei's headquarters in the Dallas area, is part of an investigation into whether Huawei violated American export controls.

Huawei has made substantial gains in both the smartphone market and the mobile infrastructure market over the last few years. It posted a 33 percent increase in net profit in 2015 over the previous thanks to increasing demand in both segments, with revenues increasing to $60.8 billion. New data from IHS found that Huawei was the No. 2 vendor of LTE gear worldwide in the second quarter with a 22 percent share of the market.

Its efforts to tap the U.S. infrastructure market have been stymied by national security concerns, though, and very few American carriers sell Huawei phones to their customers.

Huawei has not been accused of any wrongdoing, the Times reported, and the company said "it was committed to complying with laws and regulations where it operated." The subpoena doesn't signify a criminal investigation.

The news comes on the heels of sanctions against ZTE for allegedly violating U.S. export controls on Iran. The Commerce Department said it had uncovered plans by ZTE to use multiple shell companies to re-export controlled items to Iran in violation of U.S. control laws.

Like Huawei, ZTE is a China-based technology company. The U.S. sanctions against ZTE were "temporarily" lifted in March.

For more:
- read this New York Times report

Related articles:
Huawei sees 33% increase in net profit on rising sales of smartphones, network gear
Huawei: Sales to U.S. carriers grew 10-15% last year, will likely grow more this year
Report: U.S. to 'temporarily' lift ZTE export restrictions