Seagate Technology to pay $300 million penalty for selling hard disk drives to Huawei

Seagate Technology LLC faces a $300 million civil penalty from the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), a division of the Department of Commerce, for allegedly violating U.S. export controls. Seagate sold more than 7.4 million hard disk drives to Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. which violated the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). In addition, the settlement also includes a multi-year audit requirement and a five-year suspended Denial Order

In a recent quote, Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves said, “The Department of Commerce is committed to robust and stringent enforcement of U.S. export controls in every corner of the world. Today’s historic action could not be possible without the deep commitment to justice and tireless work of our agents and analysts, who are contributing to the wider effort of protecting our national security.”