Huawei CFO arrested in Canada

To say Huawei a Chinese smartphone manufacturer has a strained relationship with the USA government is an understatement. But things have just got worse. Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou, has been arrested in Vancouver, Canada. On the special request of the United States.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, violated sanctions implemented against Iran. She faces unspecified charges in the New York, where she had transferred flights on her way to Canada. She was arrested on December 1st and faces a bail hearing tomorrow.

This is not the very first time a Chinese company has faced consequences for allegedly selling to Iran. ZTE was almost ruined after the Department of Commerce ban. All US businesses restrict to sell components to the Chinese manufacturer ZTE for 7 years in April. ZTE had to pay $1 billion as part of an agreement to remove the restrictions.

Details of Arresting

Details of Meng’s alleged allegations are unclear, but it could be linked to her time in the Hong Kong-based Skycom Tech Co Ltd. A 2013 Reuters report revealed the company tried to sell HP equipment to Iran in late 2010, and that it had close ties to Huawei.

Press reports that China is demanding Meng’s release. The Chinese Embassy in Canada responded that Meng broke no US or Canadian laws and demanded Canada to immediately correct the mistake and release her”.

China expresses strong opposition and strongly condemn. China protests this serious violation of human rights as said by the embassy in a statement.

The incident occurred when the US asked its allies not to use Huawei products, which the government has long seen as a security risk. In August, President Donald Trump signed the Defense Authorization Law, which bans USA government contractors, agencies, and allies from using technology products from Huawei and any Chinese companies.

China-US Agreement

China and the USA recently agreed to suspend new trade tariffs, it will be very interesting to see how this development affects the trade war by this arrest. It is already led to instructions for Chinese people to boycott Apple Inc. products in favor of Huawei phones.

To Responding Meng’s arrest, Huawei said, Recently, our CFO, Ms. Meng Wanzhou, was detained by Canada on behalf of the United States, which seeks the extradition of Ms. Meng Wanzhou to face unspecified charges in the District of New York, when she was transferring flights in Canada.

The company has been provided insufficient information about the charges and is not aware of any wrongful act by Ms. Meng. The company believes the Canada and US legal systems will ultimately reach a just conclusion.

Huawei complies with all applicable laws and regulations where it operates, including applicable export control and sanction laws and regulations of the United Nation, US and European Union.

Huawei CFO arrested in Canada for allegedly violating Iran sanctions, China demands release!