Exclusive | Huawei’s ties with Iran known to HSBC before Meng Wanzhou arrest, documents show
- Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou is currently fighting extradition to the United States in the Canadian courts
- Executive is accused of making a fraudulent presentation to the bank about the Chinese tech giant’s business dealings in Iran
The Canadian extradition proceedings of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou hinge on allegations she made a fraudulent presentation to HSBC in 2013 over the technology giant’s business ties in Iran, but recently revealed documents show the bank had been aware of Huawei’s business relationships in the Middle Eastern country for years earlier.
The documents are dated from as early as 2010. Meng made her presentation to the bank in August 2013.
The existence of the documents could raise questions about allegations that Meng – the daughter of Huawei’s founder Ren Zhengfei – had misled HSBC about Huawei’s financial connections with Skycom and the latter’s business in Iran, which Washington alleges violated US sanctions.
The documents, dated between 2010 and 2012, do not address the allegation that Meng provided false information to HSBC, only that the global bank had knowledge of the business relationship between Huawei and Skycom.