After years of upheaval, US judge throws out Huawei fraud indictments

Robert Besser
07 Dec 2022, 21:02 GMT+10

Last week, a U.S. judge dismissed an indictment against the chief financial officer of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou
This formally ended a criminal case that has strained relations between Washington and Beijing
Four years after her December 2018 arrest, Meng, the daughter of Huawei chief executive Ren Zhengfei, and U.S. prosecutors agreed for the case to be dismissed

NEW YORK City, New York: Last week, a U.S. judge has dismissed an indictment against the chief financial officer of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, formally ending a criminal case that has strained relations between Washington and Beijing.

Four years after her December 2018 arrest, Meng, the daughter of Huawei chief executive Ren Zhengfei, and U.S. prosecutors agreed for the case to be dismissed.

Meng was accused by prosecutors of bank fraud and other crimes for misleading HSBC and other banks about Huawei's relationship with an Iranian company.

Her actions placed banks at risk of penalties for processing transactions that violated U.S. sanctions, prosecutors added.

Huawei pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In Brooklyn, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly dismissed Meng's indictment with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought again.

Meng, 50, spent nearly three years under house arrest in Canada following her arrest at a Vancouver airport. She is currently Huawei's rotating chairwoman and deputy chairwoman, as well as CFO.

Huawei is still considered a national security threat by the U.S., and on 25th November, the Biden administration banned the approval of new telecommunications equipment from Huawei and China's ZTE Corp because they posed an "unacceptable risk."

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