Canada frees Huawei exec on bail; Trump might intervene

VANCOUVER (Reuters) — A top executive of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. was granted bail by a Canadian court on Tuesday, 10 days after her arrest in Vancouver at the request of United States authorities sparked a diplomatic dispute.

Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer and the daughter of its founder, faces US claims that she misled multinational banks about Iran-linked transactions, putting the banks at risk of violating US sanctions.

In a court hearing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Justice William Ehrcke granted C$10million bail to Meng, who has been jailed since her arrest on Dec. 1.

The courtroom erupted in applause when the decision was announced. Meng cried and hugged her lawyers.

Among conditions of her bail, the 46-year-old executive must wear an ankle monitor and stay at home from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Five friends pledged equity in their homes and other money as a guarantee she will not flee.

If a Canadian judge rules that the case against Meng is strong enough, Canada’s justice minister must next decide whether to extradite her to the US. If so, Meng will face US charges of conspiracy to defraud multiple financial institutions, with a maximum sentence of 30 years for each charge.

The arrest of Meng has put a further dampener on Chinese relations with the US and Canada at a time when tensions were already high over a trade war and US accusations of Chinese spying.

US President Donald Trump told Reuters on Tuesday he would intervene in the US Justice Department’s case against Meng if it would serve national security interests or help close a trade deal with China.

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Meng’s arrest “was a mistake from the start.”

“We have already made clear our position to the United States and Canada, who should immediately correct their mistake and release Meng Wanzhou,” he told a daily news briefing. “Any person, especially if it is a leader of the United States, or a high-level figure, who is willing to make positive efforts to push this situation toward the correct direction, then that, of course, deserves to be well-received.”