Huawei: Huawei “heiress” Meng Wanzhou freed after years of tensions between China, the United States and Canada

The United States has alleged that Meng misled HSBC bank about the true nature of Huawei’s relationship with a company called Skycom, putting the bank at risk of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.

The release of Meng, 49, comes in exchange for public recognition of these allegations by the executive.

“By accepting the judicial referral agreement, Ms. Meng is taking responsibility for a scheme to defraud a global financial institution,” prosecutor Nicole Boeckmann noted, reference to HSBC.

“Over the past three years my life has radically changedMeng told reporters after his release became known.

“Every cloud has a ray of light,” he continued. “I will never forget all the good wishes I have received from people all over the world.”

The case of the senior manager tight relationships between the world’s two largest economies and Canada.

Shortly after Meng’s release and departure from Canada became known, Justin Trudeau’s government announced that two Canadians arrested in China had also been released and were on their way to their home countries.

Former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor had been imprisoned in the Asian country since 2018 and the process against them has been seen as retaliation from Beijing for what happened with Meng. The Chinese government has always denied it.

Meng is the eldest daughter of billionaire Ren Zhengfei, who founded Huawei in 1987 and made it one of the biggest tech companies in the world.

Huawei has faced accusations that Chinese authorities may be using its equipment for espionage, which Beijing denies.

In 2019, the United States imposed sanctions on Huawei and placed it on an export blacklist, excluding it from key technologies.

The UK, Sweden, Australia and Japan have also banned the use of Huawei’s technology, while other countries including France and India have taken steps that are far from a total ban.

Days after Meng’s 2018 arrest, China detained Canadian citizens Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig on suspicion of espionage.

In Canada, they then accused China of treating them as political bargaining chip, using them in so-called “hostage diplomacy”, which Beijing has also denied.

Last month, a Chinese court sentenced Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison.

Canada rejected the conviction, saying the businessman’s trial fell short of even minimum standards required by international law.

At a press conference on Friday, the Prime Minister of Canada said the two men had gone through a “incredibly difficult ordeal.”

“It is good news for everyone that they are back with their families,” he added. “Over the past 1,000 days, they have shown strength, persistence, resilience and gentleness.”

Kovrig is a former diplomat employed by the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank.

Spavor is a founding member of an organization that facilitates international commercial and cultural ties with North Korea.

Like many senior Huawei executives, until his arrest Meng Wanzhou maintained a low public profile.

However, more intimate details of her life have come to light in the court following her case.

Meng went from answering the phone to managing the finances of the world’s second-largest cellphone producer in less than two decades.

In 1993, he started his career as a receptionist, and after obtaining a master’s degree in accounting from Huanzhong University of Science and Technology, in 1999 he joined the ranks of Huawei, where rose through the ranks of China’s largest private company.

Once in the finance department, she was appointed chief financial officer of the company in 2011 and promoted to vice president a few months before her arrest.

The promotion sparked speculation that Meng Wanzhou was being groomed to run the business.

In 2018, Forbes magazine ranked her as the 12th most powerful female executive in China.

Until shortly before his arrest, his ties to his father and Huawei founder Ren Zhangfei were unknown.

At 16, to a very unusual extent in Chinese tradition, Meng Wanzhou he adopted his mother’s last name, Meng Jun, who was Ren’s first wife.

Chinese executives working overseas often adopt a Western name for their overseas activities. Meng Wanzhou is therefore also known as Sabrina Meng and Cathy Meng.

Meng, who has four children and has been married twice, testified in court that he was a Canadian resident until 2009 when he returned to China.

Two of her children attended school in Vancouver between 2009 and 2012, while her husband was studying for a master’s degree in this city.

After the sons graduated, Meng would spend “many weeks, sometimes months” in Vancouver during the summer, the affidavits explained.

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