Canadian prosecutors detail U.S. case against Huawei CFO

Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Canadian prosecutors revealed details in the U.S. case against the chief financial officer of Huawei, who faces extradition to the United States, at a bail hearing in Vancouver.

Meng Wanzhou, 46, the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested Dec. 1 while changing planes in Vancouver, British Columbia, on her way from Hong Kong to Mexico on suspicion she violated U.S. trade sanctions against Iran.

At a bail hearing Friday, it was revealed that her arrest stemmed from a warrant that a U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued on August 22.

Prosecutors alleged in court documents that Huawei used an unofficial subsidiary called Skycom from 2009 to 2014 to conduct business with Iran in violation of United States and European Union sanctions against the nation.

Canadian Justice Department attorney John Gibb-Carsley said Meng had "direct involvement" with Huawei's representations to banks.

The company has had a tense relationship with the U.S. government this year. The Justice Department opened an investigation into Huawei in April, probing whether it sold products to Iran. In May, the Pentagon banned the company's phones from being sold on U.S. military bases worldwide because they "may pose an unacceptable risk to Department's personnel, information and mission," Pentagon spokesman Maj. Dave Eastburn said at the time.

Meng was on Skycom's board between February 2008 and April 2009, and as CFO she misrepresented Skycom and Huawei as the same company, deceiving U.S. banks into doing business in violation of U.S. sanctions on Iran, according to court documents filed Nov. 30.

Details regarding her detainment were limited previously due to a press ban prior to the hearing.

Wanzhou's lawyer argued that she is not a flight risk because of her ties to Canada. With no decision made Friday, she remains in custody, and the bail hearing is set to resume again on Monday.

"We will continue to follow the bail hearing on Monday," the company said in a statement. "We have every confidence that the Canadian and U.S. legal systems will reach the right conclusion."