US deal would let Huawei’s Meng return to China but only if she admits wrongdoing
- Huawei Technologies CFO reportedly has so far resisted proposal because she believes she has done nothing wrong
- Meng has been under partial house arrest in Canada for two years while fighting extradition to the US on fraud charges
The deal would end Meng’s two-year house arrest in Canada and allow her return to China. In exchange, she would have to admit to some of the bank and wire fraud charges she faces in the US, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter.
The accusations relate to alleged violations by Huawei of US sanctions on Iran. However, Meng, 48, is said to be reluctant to take the deal as she believes she has committed no wrongdoing.
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The negotiations coincide with a transition of power at the White House that Beijing hopes will allow for an improvement in US-China relations. Talks between the Justice Department and Meng picked up after president-elect Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Neither Meng’s Canadian lawyers nor Huawei Canada immediately responded to a request for comment. Nor did Canada’s Department of Justice, whose lawyers are representing US interests in Meng’s extradition hearings in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. When contacted on Friday, a spokesman from Huawei headquarters in Shenzhen declined to comment.
Meng, the daughter of Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei, was arrested in Vancouver in December 2018 by Canadian police acting on a US warrant based on allegations she had misled HSBC about the telecoms giant’s business dealings with Iran, leading to a violation by the bank of US sanctions.