US drops charges against Huawei exec who was held in Canada

According to the latest report, The US Justice Department has officially dropped all charges against Huawei executive, who was held by Canada on a US warrant for Iran sanctions-related charges for nearly three years.

Meng, the 50-year-old daughter of Ren Zhengfei (Huawei) was arrested in Vancouver in December 2018.

Meng, who had fought extradition to the United States while Ottawa struggled with China’s alleged retaliatory arrest of two Canadians, was freed in 2021 after reaching a deferred prosecution agreement with US authorities.

The Justice Department said Friday that she had completed the period of the agreement without violating it, and so the charges were fully dropped and could not be revisited. The case became a major thorn in relations between China and both Canada and the United States.

The United States had sought her arrest for wire fraud and deceiving HSBC bank, relating to her alleged efforts to hide violations of US sanctions on Iran by Huawei affiliate Skycom.

During the same period that Meng was held under house arrest, Washington intensified a campaign against the use of Huawei equipment in the United States and allies, saying it posed deep security threats.