Taiwan issues arrest warrant for OnePlus co-founder

The Taiwanese prosecutor's office has issued an arrest warrant for Pete Lau, co-founder and CEO of the Chinese company OnePlus. He is accused of illegally hiring over 70 Taiwanese engineers without official government permission. Charges were also brought against two Taiwanese citizens who worked for OnePlus.

What is known

Taiwan prohibits Chinese companies from creating local branches or hiring citizens of the island without government consent. According to the investigation, OnePlus bypassed this ban by recruiting engineers with strategically important knowledge in the field of semiconductors. This, according to the authorities, threatens national security.

Earlier, Taiwanese law enforcement conducted searches at 34 locations as part of an investigation against 11 Chinese tech companies, including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. According to the investigation, some of them disguised themselves as foreign companies to hire specialists on the island.

Pete Lau has not yet commented on the situation. OnePlus stated that the company continues to operate as usual.

Source: Bloomberg