Canada arrests Huawei exec at US request, extradition seen
Canadian authorities arrested the chief financial officer of Huawei at the request of the U.S., which is investigating whether the telecommunications giant violated U.S. trade sanctions. A bail hearing for Meng Wanzhou was set for Friday, according to the Vancouver Sun.
The 46-year-old daughter of the company’s founder was detained Wednesday in Vancouver as she was changing planes. She faces extradition to the United States on unspecified charges.
She was arrested as part of a U.S. investigation into an alleged scheme by Huawei to use the global banking system to avoid American sanctions against Iran, Reuters reported Thursday. U.S. officials also have been looking into the company’s use of HSBC for possible illegal dealings involving Iran.
Reuters also said that according to a source HSBC is not under investigation. Both HSBC and Huawei declined to the report.
It was a federally appointed overseer at HSBC who flagged suspicious transactions in Huawei accounts to prosecutors who were seeking Meng's extradition, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Meng’s arrest sent global stocks plummeting and threatened to derail trade negotiations between the world’s two biggest economies.
China’s embassy issued a strongly worded complaint about her arrest, while U.S. officials thanked Canadian authorities.
“Americans are grateful that our Canadian partners have arrested the Chief Financial Officer of a giant Chinese telecom company for breaking U.S. sanctions against Iran,” Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said in a statement.