Gattaca plc reported last week that it is responding to a request from the US Department of Justice regarding China-based telecom company Huawei, but could not offer further comment. The announcement was in reference to a Reuters article on an investigation of Huawei that mentioned the company.

“In response to a request for information originating from the US Department of Justice, which largely relates to events prior to the acquisition of Networkers International by Gattaca, we are assisting on a voluntary basis,” according to the statement on 27 February. “We are unable to comment further on this matter at this time.”

Reuters’ article covered an internal investigation by HSBC Holdings plc into Huawei’s connections to a company called Sycom Tech Co. Ltd. that is suspected of being used to send embargoed goods and technology to Iran. HSBC’s findings assisted the US Department of Justice in bringing its ongoing criminal case against Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou, according to the article. It also reported that HSBC provided information that Matchtech subsidiary Networkers International Limited had supplied contractors for telecommunications projects in Iran from 2010 to 2016. Matchtech, now Gattaca, had acquired Networkers International in 2015.