Huawei executive accused of fraud over Iran sanctions

VANCOUVER — A senior executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei is facing allegations of fraud by using a subsidiary to violate U.S. trade sanctions against Iran in a case that shook world stock markets this week.

A federal prosecutor told a bail hearing for Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on Friday that the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies is wanted in the United States to face criminal proceedings, alleging Huawei used subsidiary Skycom to do business with Iran.

John Gibb-Carsley said Meng is alleged to have said Huawei and Skycom were separate companies in a meeting with an unnamed financial institution, misleading an executive with that institution and putting it at risk.

“Skycom was Huawei. This is the alleged fraud,” said GibbCarsley, representing the Attorney General of Canada. “Skycom employees were Huawei employees.”

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

The company has said it is not aware of any wrongdoing by Meng and her lawyer, David Martin, told the B.C. Supreme Court no charge or indictment has been filed against his client, just a warrant.

He said one of the glaring deficiencies in the allegations is that the summary of the case doesn’t differentiate between time periods.

Martin said at the meeting Meng had with a bank that was referred to in a story by Reuters, she explained Huawei owned Skycom for a period of time but it sold the company in 2009. Martin told the court the PowerPoint presentation his client delivered to the bank is supposed to be evidence of fraud, but that claim is “preposterous.”

Huawei sold Skycom before the sanctions became law in the United States under president Barack Obama in 2010, he said.

Martin also argued that the outline provided by Canada does not support the case.

“The allegations contained in this document do not support a prima facie case of fraud against Ms. Meng” or Huawei, he added.

The case was adjourned until Monday by Justice William Ehrcke to allow the defence more time to complete their submissions.

Gibb-Carsley said the Attorney General opposes Meng’s release on bail.

But Martin told the judge Meng is prominent and she would not violate a court order if she were released.

“You can rely on her personal dignity,” he said.

Huawei is the most prestigious tech company in China and was founded by Meng’s father, Ren Zhengfei.