Meng Wanzhou, 49, chief financial officer of Huawei, left house arrest in Canada on Friday after being detained on fraud charges at the request of the U.S. since December 2018.
The U.S. Department of Justice dropped an extradition request for her in a case that highlighted U.S. security concerns about Huawei’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the alleged ability of the Chinese to use Huawei telecom hardware to spy on users. Huawei has denied the connections.
Upon her release, two Chinese citizens, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, were also released after being held in China on suspicion of spying. (Spavor had been convicted and sentenced to 11 years in prison.) Chinese officials have denied a connection between their arrest and Meng’s arrest, but the Canadians were convinced there was a connection.
Meng is the elder daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei who has led the company to its position as the largest telecom equipment maker globally, even though a protracted effort by the U.S. and allies has led to the removal of Huawei gear in locations around the globe over security concerns The UK, Sweden, Australia and Japan have banned Huawei gear, while others have imposed restrictions .
Huawei continues on a trade blacklist with the U.S., and it is unclear if Meng’s release will slow down deteriorating relations between the U.S. and China.
Upon her release, Meng told reporters, “My life has been turned upside down. It was a disruptive time for me. “ However, she added, “Every cloud has a silver lining.”
Afterwards, she boarded an Air China flight for Schenzhen, China, headquarters for Huawei.
Meng’s attorneys had repeatedly argued that she never committed fraud, as alleged, but the Justice Department on Friday announced a deferred prosecution agreement, noting that Meng “has taken responsibility for her principal role in perpetrating a scheme to defraud a global financial institution.”
She agreed not to commit other crimes in the U.S. and if she breaches the agreement, she will be subject to some of the prior charges.
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