Meng Wanzhou, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of smartphone manufacturer Huawei time in Canadian detention has come to end. Reported by New York Times:
Meng Wanzhou, a top executive of the Chinese technology company Huawei, was granted bail of 10 million Canadian dollars, or about $7.5 million, while awaiting extradition to the United States from Canada, a judge ruled on Tuesday. The decision came on the third day of a bail hearing for Ms. Meng, who is also a daughter of the Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, in a case that has complicated the relationship between China and the United States.
What’s Next For Wanzhou?
Despite being out on bail, Wanzhou agreed to turn over her passports to prevent her from fleeing Canada while the United States works on filing a formal extradition request. The US has 90 days from December 1st (the date Meng Wanzhou was arrested at the Vancouver International Airport) to file the request with Canadian officials.
“Ninety percent of the individuals arrested for extradition in the last decade eventually were surrendered from Canada, according to information provided to CBC News by the Department of Justice following a CBC News report on the efforts made by a senior department lawyer to ensure the extradition of Ottawa sociology professor Hassan Diab in 2014,” states CBC in a recent report.
The Canadian extradition process is presented by Canada’s Justice Department:
- The Minister of Justice must determine whether to authorize the commencement of extradition proceedings in the Canadian courts by issuing an “Authority to Proceed” ;
- Where an Authority to Proceed has been issued, the Canadian courts must determine whether there is sufficient evidence to justify the person’s committal for extradition; and
- Where the person is committed for extradition, the Minister of Justice must personally decide whether to order the person’s surrender to the foreign state.
Meng is in this situation for her alleged role with a company in Hong Kong named Skycom Tech, and alleged fraud and illegal business deals with Iran in violation of trade sanctions.
Will President Trump Get Involved?
US President Donald Trump told Reuters on Tuesday he would intervene in the US Justice department’s case against Wanzhou if he felt it would serve national security interests.
Since beginning his run for office President Trump has called climate change a ‘Chinese hoax,’ began a trade war with the country, and has accused the Chinese government of stealing American technology secrets. It’s unlikely that he would do anything to the benefit of Wanzhou.
CNBC provides the stakes for the US in this case and the larger claims against alleged abuses by China:
Government officials have complained about unfair practices by Chinese corporations mostly before sympathetic congressional committees, in a friendly conference of like-minded former government officials or as anonymous media sources. The Department of Justice has indicted several Chinese citizens under a range of cyber and IP theft allegations, but very few of those have been extradited.
Wanzhou’s situation remains fluid and much could change in the upcoming weeks as China and the Canada/US coalition continue arguing their case through the media and international back channels.
