China's ZTE may pay over $1 billion to the US over foreign bribery allegations

11/12/2025 16:16

Chinese telecoms equipment maker ZTE Corp may pay more than $1 billion to the U.S. government to resolve years-old allegations of foreign bribery, according to two people familiar with the matter.



ZTE, which already paid some $2 billion in penalties to U.S. authorities over export violations during President Donald Trump's first term, has for years faced probes by authorities around the world into alleged bribes to secure telecom contracts.



This year, the Justice Department has moved ahead with a U.S. investigation into ZTE for allegedly violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in South America and other regions, the sources said. The act prohibits payments or anything of value to foreign officials to obtain business.



U.S. officials, Reuters is reporting for the first time, are working on a resolution that could see ZTE pay more than $1 billion, the sources said, or possibly $2 billion or more, one said, based in part on alleged gains from corrupt contracts.



On Thursday, ZTE's Hong Kong-listed shares tumbled more than 12%, while its Shenzhen shares fell by their daily limit of 10%.