Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou will appear in court in Brooklyn, New York, on Sept. 24. She is expected to plead guilty to her charges filed in the United States as part of a deal that would allow her to go back to China.
Huawei CFO to Plead Guilty
According to CNN, the plea would end a three-year legal battle that affected the relations between the United States, China, and Canada.
The case is about whether Meng misled HSBC about the company's relationship with Skycom. Meng is the daughter of Huawei's founder, Ren Zhengfei.
The US alleges that Meng's lie could have put HSBC at risk of sanctions violations.
The Department of Justice or DOJ submitted a letter to District Judge Ann Donnelly last week. The letter acknowledges that the department would address a resolution at the hearing.
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Huawei and Meng's financial team denied the allegations. They said that the executives of HSBC knew of the company's relationships with Skycom, according to Reuters.
Meng's team and the telecommunications company also claimed that the case in the US, which was filed before President Donald Trump's trade was with China, was announced.
In 2018, Meng was arrested at the airport in Vancouver, Canada, at the behest of the US government. She is currently under house arrest in Vancouver as proceedings to extradite her to stand trial in the US are forwarded to the Canadian courts.
Meng's team is opposed to the extradition. They said that Meng's rights were already violated when she was arrested at the airport.
The extradition proceedings are nearing their end. In August, hearings in the case concluded, and Canadian Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes stated that she would announce the date for her ruling on whether Meng should be extradited in a court appearance on Oct. 21.
Last year, the US Justice Department offered Canada a resolution that lets them take over Meng's case, according to Politico.
Bank Fraud Case
Meng's case has been carefully watched by the three countries involved since she was arrested in 2018.
Meng and Huawei were charged with bank fraud in the United States. They were also accused of evasion of economic sanctions against Iran because of its connection with Skycom.
Both Meng and Huawei have denied the charges, and Meng accused the Canadian and US officials of unlawfully detaining, searching, and interrogating her.
In a court filing last year, Canada's attorney general stated that there was no evidence to Meng's claims about unlawful detention and interrogation.
Huawei has faced pressure from the United States as it tries to expand its 5G network and smartphone business in the country.
The company also faced issues when former President Trump launched his administration's trade war against China.
Last year, the United Kingdom banned Huawei, affecting the company's overall sales.
Huawei is also facing charges after the company was accused of spying on citizens in Pakistan.
Meng's case has strained the relationship between the United States and China. It has also put Canada in a difficult position as it needs to choose which country it will back up.
Even though the United States and China recently reached a temporary truce in the trade war that was launched last year, Meng's bank fraud case shows that the tensions between the two powerful countries are not going to go away.
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Written by Sophie Webster
