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The US Department of Justice is discussing a deal with Huawei Technologies CFO Meng Wanzhou that would allow her to return to China from Canada, where she was arrested on a US extradition warrant two years ago, in exchange for admitting wrongdoing, according to the Wall Street Journal and the Reuters news agency.
The criminal case relates to allegations that Meng violated US sanctions on Iran on behalf of Huawei and has strained relations between China, Canada and the United States.
Lawyers for Meng, who faces bank and wire transfer fraud charges, have spoken with Justice Department officials in recent weeks about the possibility of reaching a “deferred prosecution agreement,” the Journal reported, citing people familiar with it. with the matter.
Negotiations between the two sides reportedly resumed after the US presidential election a month ago, another source told Reuters, but it is not yet clear what kind of deal could be reached.
Under such a deal, which prosecutors typically use with businesses but rarely grant to individuals, Meng would be required to admit to some of the allegations against him, but prosecutors would agree to potentially postpone and then later. drop the charges if he cooperated, the people said. .
Meng has so far resisted the proposed deal, believing he did nothing wrong, according to the report.
Canada caught in the fight
She declined to comment through a Huawei spokesperson. A spokesman for the Justice Department declined to comment. Canadian officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Reuters source said the negotiations do not appear to be part of a broader deal with Huawei, which was hit with additional charges in the case in February, including conspiring to steal trade secrets from six US technology companies.
Meng was arrested in December 2018 while moving aircraft in Vancouver, sparking a diplomatic dispute between China and Canada. He was allowed bail and lives at his home in the western Canadian city while the extradition case goes through the courts.
Days after Meng’s arrest, two Canadians, businessman Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, were detained in China. Held without access to lawyers or family members, China only formally confirmed their arrest in May 2019. It began prosecuting them on espionage charges in June, and has said there is no connection to Meng’s arrest.
The Trump administration has targeted Huawei’s business around the world in an effort to thwart its ambitions to deliver next-generation 5G networks.
Pressuring other countries to exclude Huawei from their cellular networks, the United States said it was concerned that Beijing could use its equipment to spy. The company has repeatedly denied the allegation.
Meng is due to return to the British Columbia Supreme Court on Monday as he fights extradition to the United States.
By admitting wrongdoing, the Trump administration could claim victory in a thorny dispute with China and ease pressure on Canada, which is in the crossfire of the US-China trade war.
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