A Chinese technology executive held in Canada on US fraud charges has left the country after a deal with prosecutors, following years of diplomatic tensions over her fate.
Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei, was detained in Canada on fraud charges in December 2018 at the request of the US. On Friday, the US Department of Justice dropped an extradition request for her. The case infuriated China and strained relations with the US and Canada. It also prompted accusations that China had detained Canadian citizens in retaliation, which China denied.
Mrs Meng stated, “My life has been turned upside down. It was a disruptive time for me. Every cloud has a silver lining. I will never forget all the good wishes I received from people around the world.” Shortly afterwards her release, she boarded an Air China flight bound for the Chinese city of Shenzen. Details for the release of Mrs Meng have been the subject of intense negotiations between US and China.
The US alleged that Mrs Meng misled the bank HSBC over the true nature of Huawei’s relationship with a company called Skycom, putting the bank at risk of violating US sanctions against Iran. On Friday, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that it had reached a deferred prosecution agreement. This means that the DOJ will hold off from prosecuting Mrs Meng until December 2022. If she complies with the conditions set by court, the case will eventually be dropped.
