US ‘was probing Huawei for an alleged global banking scheme to evade US sanctions on Iran before it arrested Sabrina Meng Wanzhou’
- The Chinese telecoms giant has been under investigation since at least 2016, according to sources familiar with the investigation
Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd’s chief financial officer, Sabrina Meng Wanzhou, was arrested as part of a US investigation into an alleged scheme to use the global banking system to evade US sanctions against Iran, according to sources familiar with the probe.
The United States has been looking into whether Huawei Technologies Ltd violated US sanctions against Iran since at least 2016. More recently, the probe has included company’s alleged use of HSBC Holdings Plc to make illegal transactions involving Iran.
Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of the company’s founder, was arrested in Canada and faces extradition to the United States, sparking fears it could reignite a the China-US trade dispute and roiling global stock markets.
In 2012, HSBC paid US$1.92 billion and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the US Attorney’s office in Brooklyn for violating US sanctions and money-laundering laws.
An HSBC spokesperson declined to comment. HSBC is not under investigation, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Huawei also declined to comment. After news of the arrest, Huawei said it has been provided little information of the charges against Meng, adding that it was “not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms Meng”.