Canadian court grants bail to CFO of China's Huawei

 

VANCOUVER/BEIJING: A Canadian court on Tuesday granted bail to a top executive of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd while she awaits a hearing for extradition to the United States, a move that could help placate Chinese officials angered by her arrest.

Meng Wanzhou, 46, Huawei’s chief financial officer and the daughter of its founder, faces US accusations that she misled multinational banks about Iran-linked transactions, putting the banks at risk of violating US sanctions.

Justice William Ehrcke at a court hearing in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday, granted bail to Meng, subject to a guarantee of C$10 million ($7.5 million) and other conditions.

China had threatened severe consequences unless Canada released Meng immediately.

A Canadian citizen has been detained in China, Canada said on Tuesday. The Canadian government said it saw no explicit link to the Huawei case, but analysts had predicted retaliation from Beijing. Two sources told Reuters the person detained was former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig, who now works for a think tank.

Guy Saint-Jacques, Canada’s former ambassador to China, asked by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp whether the Kovrig detention was a coincidence, said: “In China, there are no coincidences ... If they want to send you a message, they will send you a message.”

Meng was detained as part of a US investigation on December 1 as she was changing planes in Vancouver.