Seagate Technology Holdings announced a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security that resolves allegations that Seagate’s sales of hard disk drives to Huawei between August 17, 2020 and September 29, 2021 did not comply with the U.S. Export Administration Regulations.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Seagate has agreed to pay $300 million to the U.S. Department of Commerce, to be paid in installments of $15 million per quarter over the course of five years, with the first installment due in October 2023. Additional information regarding the terms of the agreement is included in the Form 8-K that will be filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“We believe entering this agreement with BIS and resolving this matter is in the best interest of Seagate, our customers and our shareholders,” said Dave Mosley, the Company’s chief executive officer. “Integrity is one of our core values, and we have a strong commitment to compliance as evidenced by our global team of international trade compliance and legal professionals – complemented by external experts and outside counsel. While we believed we complied with all relevant export control laws at the time we made the hard disk drive sales at issue, we determined that engaging with BIS and settling this matter was the best course of action. We are now moving forward fully focused on executing our strong technology roadmap to support the growing demand for mass data storage solutions.”
