Huawei CFO free following agreement with US prosecutors

Meng Wanzhou’s release brings to an end a near three-year diplomatic dispute between the US and China

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou has returned to China after securing a deal with US prosecutors for her release after being under house arrest in Canada for nearly three years.

Meng, who is also the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei returned to China on Saturday after being detained for allegedly violating US sanctions in December 2018.

The US had sought to have Meng extradited to face the charges in the US, with Huawei and Meng maintaining no wrongdoing throughout. She was granted her release at a Vancouver court.

Meng had been placed under house arrest in Canada since December 2018 at the request at the US after being accused of misleading HSBC about Huawei’s relationship with Skycom, a company that primarily operated in Iran.

Meng, who was given a warm reception upon arrival in China, said she knowingly made false statements to HSBC as part of an agreement with the US prosecutors.

In a statement, Meng told the media: “I want to thank my country, my people, my family & friends. Over the past 3 years, my life’s been turned upside down. But I believe that after the rain comes the rainbow, and it was a valuable experience. Thank you again for your kindness, which I’ll never forget.”

Huawei has since said in a statement of its own it will ‘continue to defend itself against’ any US allegations.

The two Canadians – former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor – who had both been detained in China following the Meng arrest, have also been released and have since returned to Canada.

Kovrig and Spavor’s arrest was seen by many critics as retaliation from the China for the arrest of Meng.