Cadence Design Systems Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay Over $140 Million for Unlawfully Exporting Semiconductor Design Tools to a Restricted PRC Military University

“Cadence has agreed to accept responsibility for unlawfully exporting sensitive semiconductor design tools to a restricted Chinese military university and has implemented a strong export compliance program to help prevent any further illegal transmission of American technology,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “American ingenuity is one of our Nation’s most precious assets, and the National Security Division will vigorously enforce U.S. export control laws to protect the technological advantage we enjoy because of that ingenuity.”

Cadence has agreed to pay over $95 million in civil penalties. The Department of Justice and BIS have coordinated the resolution of the parallel criminal and civil actions, with each agreeing to credit against their respective fines a portion of the payments made by Cadence to satisfy the other agency’s fine. After the Department of Justice and BIS credit payments made by Cadence under the coordinated agreements, Cadence will pay aggregate net criminal and civil penalties and forfeiture totaling more than $140 million.