A court in Canada has granted bail to a top executive of Chinese telecom giant Huawei while she awaits an extradition hearing, following her arrest at the request of the United States.
Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer, faces US accusations that she misled multinational banks about the company’s business dealings in Iran, putting the lenders at risk of violating Washington’s sanctions.
Justice William Ehrcke at a court hearing in Vancouver, on Tuesday granted bail to Meng, subject to a guarantee of C$10m ($7.5m) and other conditions.
“The risk of her non-attendance in court (for a future extradition hearing) can be reduced to an acceptable level by imposing the bail conditions proposed by her council,” the judge said, prompting the courtroom packed with her supporters to erupt in cheers.
Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, was detained as part of a US investigation on December 1 as she was transferring flights in Vancouver.
The 46-year-old’s arrest roiled financial markets and complicated efforts to resolve a bitter trade war dispute between the US and China, the world’s two largest economies.
China had threatened severe consequences unless Canada released Meng immediately.
A Canadian citizen, reportedly a former diplomat, has been detained in China, Ottawa said on Tuesday. The Canadian government said it saw no explicit link to the Huawei case, but analysts had predicted retaliation from Beijing.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
