US Judge Drops Case Against Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou

In the case of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Canada for years, there is now a surprising turnaround: Wanzhou was threatened with up to 30 years in prison in the USA, but a judge has now dropped the lawsuit. It was primarily about violations of sanctions.

More than four years after her arrest in Canada, the lengthy legal history of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou is now coming to a temporary end.

As the Reuters news agency reports, the lawsuit against Huawei’s chief financial officer in the United States was dismissed. Canadian authorities arrested Meng in 2018 on behalf of the United States. She was accused of violating US sanctions against Iran.

Agreement with the US Attorney’s Office

Attempts followed to deport her to the USA in order to be able to bring her to court there. She faced up to 30 years in prison, including for bank and wire fraud. Meng, who is the daughter of Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, spent three years fighting back attempts to extradite her to the US. Finally, in 2021, there was an agreement with the US Attorney’s Office.

A judge dismissed the charges – the Justice Department can’t bring the same charges against Meng again. Meng had been under house arrest for three years before reaching an agreement with the US Attorney’s Office last year.

The detention strained US-China relations and led to an international incident: China arrested two Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, just days after Meng’s arrest. They were only released after Meng reached an agreement with the Justice Department to stay the prosecution. As part of that deal, she admitted to making false statements about Huawei’s operations in Iran. Meng has already flown back to China.

The Huawei parent company and some subsidiaries continue to face charges in the United States. Just earlier this week, the FCC also banned telecommunications and video surveillance equipment from Huawei and a handful of other Chinese companies.