On Thursday, US prosecutors requested a judge to dismiss the bank fraud and other charges that were charged upon Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of China’s Huawei Technologies who was arrested in 2018 which strained the relations between the US and China.
According to Reuters, a deal was proposed between the prosecutors and Meng last year to dismiss the charges against her on 1 December 2022 that was four years after her arrest in Canada on a warrant.
With no information Meng infringed the deal, “the government respectfully moves to dismiss the third superseding indictment in this case as to defendant Wanzhou Meng,” Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Carolyn Pokorny wrote in a 1 December letter to the U.S. District Judge, Ann Donnelly.
Huawei which is a Chinese telecommunications equipment maker and producer is still charged under this case in the US as a threat to national security. The case is pending in the US district court in Brooklyn, New York with no mention of any trial date. However, a status conference has been scheduled for 7 February.
Moreover, the move on Thursday was expected by many. This however closed the chapter that questioned the trust relationship between the two superpowers of the globe, China and the United States. This case also involved another major country in America – Canada.
Charges on Meng
Meng was accused of bank fraud and many other crimes such as misleading global bank HSBC Holdings Plc about the company’s business in Iran to receive banking services in breach of U.S. sanctions.
She acknowledged that she made false statements about the company’s Iran business in a 2013 conference with a bank manager.
The charges against Huawei enclose everything from bank forgery to sanctions-busting to conspiracy to misappropriate trade secrets from U.S. technology businesses and blocking justice. It has argued not guilty.
The company was even added to the trade blacklist of the US and many suppliers were blocked from trading with the company.
In addition, The United States started a global campaign against the telecom company, issuing a warning letter to the natives that the Chinese government may use their data and information to spy on them. Therefore, the Federal Communications Commission of the US banned much equipment from the company.
About Meng
Meng is the daughter of the founder of Huawei and CEO Ren Zhengfei. She is currently the company’s rotating chairwoman and deputy chairwoman as well as its chief financial officer.
After she struck the deal, she left Canada to reach China on 24 September. Two Canadians and two Americans were also detained along with her. However, they were soon released and allowed to fly home, leaving China.
