US prosecutors on Thursday asked a judge to throw out bank fraud and other charges against Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, whose arrest in 2018 strained relations not only between the US and China, but also between Canada and China.
Meng reached a deal with prosecutors last year for the charges against him to be dismissed on December 1, 2022, four years from the date of his arrest in British Columbia on a U.S. warrant, as first reported by Reuters. .
Without information Meng violated the agreement, “the government respectfully moves to dismiss the third indictment in this case against defendant Wanzhou Meng,” Brooklyn US Attorney Carolyn Pokorny wrote in a Dec. 1 letter to the judge. District Federal Ann Donnelly.
While expected Thursday’s move, it closes a chapter in a particularly tense phase of US-China relations that has also thrust Canada into the middle of a broader clash between the two superpowers.
Meng had been charged with bank fraud and other crimes for misleading global bank HSBC Holdings Plc about the company’s business in Iran to obtain banking services in violation of US sanctions.
As part of his deal, a deferred prosecution agreement, he acknowledged that he had made false statements about the company’s business in Iran in a 2013 meeting with a bank executive.
Meng’s false statements were in a statement of fact that she agreed was accurate and voluntary and she would not contradict.
Huawei still faces charges
Huawei, a telecommunications equipment maker that the US considers a threat to national security, is still a defendant in the case, which is pending in US District Court in Brooklyn, New York. 7.
The charges against Huawei include everything from bank fraud and sanctions violation to conspiracy to steal trade secrets from US technology companies and obstruction of justice. He has pleaded not guilty.
CLOCK | Canada makes a long-awaited decision on Huawei:
The federal government has announced that it will ban Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from accessing Canada’s 5G network for national security reasons.
Following its alleged activities, Huawei was added to a US trade ban list, which restricts US suppliers from doing business with the company.
The United States has also launched a global campaign against Huawei, warning that the Chinese government could use the company’s equipment for spying.
Just this week, the US Federal Communications Commission adopted final rules banning new telecommunications equipment from Huawei.
Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, now serves as the company’s rotating president and vice president, as well as chief financial officer.
He flew to China from Canada on September 24, 2021, the day the deal closed. Two Canadians arrested in China shortly after she was detained were released, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, and two American brothers who had been prevented from leaving China were allowed to fly home.
Months after the two Canadians were released, Ottawa followed its Five Eyes security allies such as Britain and Australia by banning Huawei from Canadian 5G networks.
A lawyer for Meng declined to comment and a Huawei spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
