Wavelength Optoelectronics Charged with Alleged Smuggling of Goods Banned from Import and Export, Involving CNY 20.1085 Million

On the evening of October 8, Wavelength Opto-Electronic issued an announcement stating that the company recently received an indictment issued by the Third Branch of the Shanghai People's Procuratorate.

After completing its investigation, the Anti-Smuggling Bureau of Shanghai Customs transferred the case for prosecution to the Third Branch of the Shanghai People's Procuratorate, alleging that the defendant entity, Nanjing Wavelength Opto-Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., and defendants Huang Shengdi, Wu Hongxia, Zhu Jingting, and Qi Wenqing were suspected of smuggling goods whose import and export are prohibited by the state. The value of the prohibited goods (optical lenses) exported by the defendant entity and the defendants reached RMB 20.1085 million.

After reviewing the case in accordance with the law, the Third Branch of the Shanghai People's Procuratorate concluded that between August 2023 and April 2025, the defendant entity and the defendants exported goods whose import and export are prohibited by the state (optical lenses) worth more than RMB 20 million without obtaining the required dual-use item export licenses. Their conduct violates paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 151 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, and they should be held criminally liable for the crime of smuggling goods whose import and export are prohibited by the state.

The indictment also disclosed that the four defendants truthfully confessed their own criminal acts and those of the defendant entity after being taken into custody. Under paragraph 1 of Article 67 of the Criminal Law, the defendant entity and the defendants may receive a lighter or mitigated punishment. The Third Branch of the Shanghai People's Procuratorate has filed a public prosecution with the Shanghai No. 3 Intermediate People's Court.

Notably, the matter covered by this prosecution is the same as the inspection case previously disclosed by the company. In July 2025, Wavelength Opto-Electronic received an Inspection Conclusion from Shanghai Wusong Customs, and the case was transferred to the anti-smuggling authorities for handling on suspicion of exporting state-controlled germanium-containing lenses by falsely declaring the material of the goods.

In June 2026, the company's chairman, Huang Shengdi, was released on bail pending further investigation by the Anti-Smuggling Bureau of Shanghai Customs. The company said at the time that the business involved accounted for a relatively limited share of its annual revenue and that it had stopped the related export operations. This timeline closely overlaps with the period since August 2023, when China formally imposed export controls on gallium- and germanium-related items.

Wavelength Optoelectronic said in the announcement that the lawsuit is not expected to have a material impact on the company's ability to continue as a going concern. The company has a sound corporate governance structure and internal organizational framework, and its production and operations remain normal, with all work proceeding in an orderly manner. The lawsuit has not yet been tried, and the outcome remains uncertain. The impact on the company's profit is also uncertain, with the final effect subject to the court's ruling.