Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou Granted Changes to Bail Conditions, Future Court Session

Margaret Wollensak
By Margaret Wollensak
January 29, 2019US News
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Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou Granted Changes to Bail Conditions, Future Court Session
Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (R) is escorted by a member of her private security detail while arriving at a parole office in Vancouver, Canada, on Dec. 12, 2018. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck)

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was granted changes to her bail conditions in a Vancouver court today. She is currently on bail in Canada, where she faces possible extradition to the United States, who have filed a formal extradition request for Meng over fraud charges related to U.S. sanctions against Iran.

Through her lawyer David Martin, Meng requested two changes to her bail: a change of date for her next scheduled court appearance as well as a change in surety. The change in court date from Feb. 6 to March 6 was requested because the United States only recently filed a record of the case, Martin says. This means that Canada has 30 days to determine whether to issue an authority to proceed, and only after that would the materials be released to the defence counsel.

Justice William Ehrcke granted the request to change the court date. Meng is now scheduled to appear in court at 10:00AM March 6.

There was also a change in people acting as Meng’s sureties. A surety is someone who supervises an accused person while they are out on bail and they also pledge bail money. A couple have pledged their home and money to take the place of another surety. The Crown agreed to these changes.

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Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker announces indictments against Chinese telecommunications company Huawei, with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross (L), Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen (R), and other officials at the Department of Justice in Washington on Jan. 28, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Meng’s requests come the day after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed a 13-count indictment against Meng, Huawei, and several of the company’s subsidiaries, accusing them of violating sanctions against Iran. Meng herself is charged with bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. It was these charges that led to her arrest in Vancouver in December 2018.

The DOJ alleges that, since 2007, Chinese telecom giant Huawei misled global banks and U.S. authorities about the company’s relationship with Hong Kong-based Skycom Tech, which prosecutors allege conducted business in Iran on behalf of Huawei.

U.S. laws and regulations prohibit banks from processing transactions related to Iran through the United States. Relying on repeated misrepresentations by Huawei, banks continued to clear transactions from Huawei and Skycom—in one instance clearing more than $100 million worth of Skycom-related transactions between 2010-2014.

Speaking at a press conference where the charges against Huawei and Meng were unsealed, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the Trump administration is taking a tougher stance against those who violate trade sanctions.

“For years, Chinese firms have broken our export laws and undermined sanctions, often using U.S. financial systems to facilitate their illegal activities,” Ross said. “This will end.”

Meng is alleged to have personally been involved in concealing the true nature of this Huawei-Skycom relationship. The indictment says Meng made a presentation in August 2013 to an executive of one of Huawei’s banks in which she repeatedly lied about the relationship between Huawei and Skycom.

Acting Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker confirmed that the DOJ would file an extradition request for Meng. Canada’s Justice Department confirmed that officials had received a formal extradition request from the United States on Jan. 28.

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An employee uses a computer as she deals with a customer at a Huawei store in Beijing on March 24, 2014. Huawei has come under increasing scrutiny over allegations its products could be exploited by Beijing for spying. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

In a separate 10-count indictment, U.S. prosecutors accuse Huawei of stealing trade secrets, committing wire fraud, and obstructing justice for allegedly stealing robot technology from T-Mobile to test smartphone durability. Huawei is the second largest smartphone maker in the world.

The two charges come at a time of increasing global scrutiny and cyberintelligence concerns over Huawei over allegations that its products could be used by Beijing for spying—an allegation the company denies. Huawei is the largest telecom equipment maker in the world and is seen as a security risk due to its close ties with the Chinese communist regime. The United States has banned Huawei equipment from its national networks on security grounds.

“These charges lay bare Huawei’s alleged blatant disregard for the laws of our country and standard global business practices,” FBI Director Wray said in a DOJ press release. “Companies like Huawei pose a dual threat to both our economic and national security, and the magnitude of these charges make clear just how seriously the FBI takes this threat.”

From The Epoch Times

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