ZTE 'Remains Committed' to Change After Pleading Guilty to Illegal Iran Sales, CEO Says

After ZTE agreed to enter a guilty plea Tuesday in connection with the illegal sale of wireless and wireline technology to Iran (see 1703070042), CEO Zhao Xianming in a statement acknowledged ZTE's mistakes and said the company "remains committed" to positive change. It will pay the U.S. $892.4 million, under the impending guilty plea and settlement agreements reached with the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security and Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, DOJ had announced. New "compliance-focused procedures" and significant personnel changes have been top priorities, and the settlement agreements will allow the company to move forward in a stronger position than before, the smartphone company said. Among recent changes are spinning off a new compliance department from the firm's legal department, an expanded export control compliance manual, and creating a CEO-led Compliance Committee with the authority to "significantly change" policies and priorities and provide better oversight of the compliance initiatives, it said.