If ZTE and other Chinese giants defy bans on selling American technology to Russia, it will be because they can't help but chase the revenue, says Ashley Yablon, the whistleblower whose evidence led to ZTE being fined for willfully ignoring the US ban on exports to Iran.
Yablon is a lawyer who, after working in senior roles at Huawei USA, in late 2011 became general counsel at Chinese telco kit-maker ZTE's US operations. Within months of starting the job, he encountered documentation detailing how ZTE sold its own and US-sourced technology to Iran in contravention of export bans.
ZTE asked him to defend the indefensible, and Yablon chose instead to blow the whistle. In May 2012 he told FBI agents of his experiences and let the bureau access his work laptop. The subsequent investigation led to ZTE being fined $900 million with another $300 million suspended – at the time the US government's highest-ever penalty.
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In conversation with The Register, Yablon said he fears ZTE and others may again choose to ignore US law, including sanctions that prohibit the selling of certain technology to Russia. There is no suggestion at this time of any wrongdoing by ZTE in this respect.
"I don't think they can help themselves," Yablon said. "The profit motive is too great."
He pointed out that it's not just Chinese execs who have previously resisted sales to forbidden clients, citing Swedish firm ...
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