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Canadian judge grants bail to Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou

By Daniel Uria
Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei, was granted bail on Tuesday as she faces extradition to the United States for allegedly trying to circumvent trade sanctions against Iran. Photo by Maxim Shipenkov/EPA
Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei, was granted bail on Tuesday as she faces extradition to the United States for allegedly trying to circumvent trade sanctions against Iran. Photo by Maxim Shipenkov/EPA

Dec. 11 (UPI) -- A Canadian judge ordered the chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications company Huawei to be released from prison Tuesday on $7.5 million bail.

Vancouver Justice William Ehreke granted Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou conditional freedom after she was taken into custody by Canadian authorities at request of the United States for allegedly trying to circumvent trade sanctions against Iran.

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In order to meet the conditions of her release, at least $5.2 million worth of Meng's bail must be paid in cash.

Attorneys for the 46-year-old Meng, who is the daughter of the company's founder, offered to put the family's two Vancouver homes, valued at $16.3 million, up for collateral. Her legal team also said she would pay for GPS monitoring and full time guards upon her release.

The decision came after the judge expressed concern that Meng's husband, Liu Xiaojong, who offered $11.2 million, wouldn't be an appropriate choice for a surety as he was only in Canada on a visitor's visa.

Meng's lawyers provided four other sureties including a British Columbia man who acted as a realtor for Meng and her husband, a second person who had known Meng since the 1990s, a homemaker who also knew her well and a yoga instructor who lives near one of Meng's Vancouver homes.

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The United States is seeking Meng's extradition to face "unspecified charges in the Eastern District of New York."

She was arrested at a Vancouver airport in the midst of transferring to a flight to Mexico after arriving on a flight from Hong Kong.

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