For observers in the Philippines, the latest trouble confronting Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE feels strikingly familiar.
More than a decade after the company became a central figure in one of the country’s most infamous corruption scandals, ZTE is once again under scrutiny—this time in the United States—over allegations that it paid bribes to secure overseas telecom contracts. According to people familiar with the matter, the company could end up paying more than $1 billion to settle a long-running probe by the US Department of Justice, potentially making it one of the largest foreign bribery resolutions involving a Chinese firm.
The allegations are not new. US investigators have been examining ZTE’s overseas dealings for years, focusing on possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a US law that bars companies from bribing foreign officials to win business. Sources say some of the alleged misconduct dates back to 2018 and earlier, involving projects in South America and possibly Venezuela. Any settlement, however, remains uncertain and would still require approval from the Chinese government.
Markets reacted swiftly to the news. ZTE’s shares plunged in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, erasing billions in market value in a single day. The company confirmed it is in ongoing communication with US authorities and reiterated its claim that it maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward corruption, while declining to comment further.
For Filipinos, the developments inevitably revive memories of the late 2000s, when ZTE’s name became synonymous with the controversial National Broadband Network deal during the Arroyo administration. That project, valued at roughly $329 million, collapsed amid allegations that bribes were paid to Philippine officials. Senate investigations at the time exposed claims of kickbacks, secret meetings, and inflated contract prices, ultimately leading to the cancellation of the deal and cementing the scandal as a watershed moment in the country’s anti-corruption history.
Internationally, ZTE’s record has long raised red flags. In 2015, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund excluded the company from its investment portfolio after linking it to corruption allegations in 18 countries, including the Philippines. The fund’s ethics council cited suspected bribes ranging from millions to tens of millions of dollars, allegedly paid to public officials to secure telecom contracts over a span of more than a decade.
The current US case also unfolds against the backdrop of ZTE’s earlier run-ins with American regulators. In 2017, the company pleaded guilty to illegally exporting US technology to Iran, paying nearly $900 million in penalties. A year later, it was temporarily cut off from US suppliers after authorities said it violated the terms of that agreement—a move that nearly crippled its operations before a last-minute deal allowed it to resume buying critical components from firms like Qualcomm.
Today, the stakes are once again high. ZTE earned just over $1 billion in profit last year, meaning a massive settlement could significantly weaken its finances. More critically, failure to reach a deal could expose the company to renewed US export bans, threatening its access to chips, software, and hardware that remain essential to its global business.
Beyond the legal and financial risks, the case underscores a broader pattern that regulators and watchdogs have flagged for years: allegations of corruption in the global telecoms industry often surface long after the deals are signed and the infrastructure is built. By the time cases reach courtrooms or settlement tables, governments have changed, officials have moved on, and public attention has faded.
In the Philippines, however, the echoes remain loud. ZTE’s renewed troubles serve as a reminder that the controversies of the past were not isolated episodes but part of a wider global trail that continues to follow the company. As US authorities push forward with their investigation, the question lingers—whether this time, accountability will finally catch up with a name that has repeatedly resurfaced at the center of international corruption probes.
