The Justice Department declined to prosecute Robert Bosch GmbH, marking the first time the National Security Division has issued a declination under the department-wide Corporate Enforcement Policy. Between September 2020 and September 2024, two non-U.S. subsidiaries of the engineering company illegally exported over $70 million worth of sensor products and software to Huawei Technologies and its affiliates. These transactions violated the Export Administration Regulations because the items were manufactured using equipment that was the direct product of U.S. technology, triggering restrictions under the Entity List Foreign Direct Product Rule.
An investigation revealed that Bosch’s trade compliance personnel were ill-equipped to provide accurate legal guidance, resulting in several years of continuous violations and multiple missed opportunities to halt the unauthorized sales. Consequently, the company generated approximately $11,430,098 in pre-tax profits from the transactions. To resolve the national security investigation, Bosch agreed to disgorge those exact illicit profits. A portion of this disgorgement will be credited toward a separate $36,184,680 civil fine paid to the Department of Commerce in a parallel enforcement action.
The Justice Department bypassed criminal prosecution because the organization voluntarily self-disclosed the misconduct, fully cooperated with investigators, and implemented timely internal remediation. The company expanded its U.S. trade compliance resources, updated internal policies, and enacted disciplinary actions. Commenting on the landmark resolution, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg stated, “This declination reflects the clear benefits for companies that promptly disclose potential violations and fully assist in our investigations.”
