Voice of America
06 Dec 2018, 13:05 GMT+10
WASHINGTON - Canada has arrested Huawei's global chief financial officer in Vancouver, where she is facing extradition to the United States, Canada's Department of Justice said Wednesday.
The arrest is related to violations of U.S. sanctions, a person familiar with the matter said. Reuters was unable to determine the precise nature of the violations.
Meng Wanzhou, who is one of the vice chairs on the Chinese technology company's board and the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested Dec. 1 and a court hearing has been set for Friday, a Canadian Justice Department spokesman said.
Huawei confirmed the arrest in a statement and said that it has been provided little information of the charges against Meng, adding that it was "not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms. Meng."
China's embassy in Canada said it resolutely opposed the arrest and called for Meng's immediate release.
More US-China tension
The arrest could drive a wedge between China and the United States just days after President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping met over dinner in Argentina where they agreed to steps to resolve a brewing trade war.
U.S. authorities have been probing Huawei, one of the world's largest makers of telecommunications network equipment, since at least 2016 for allegedly shipping U.S.-origin products to Iran and other countries in violation of U.S. export and sanctions laws, sources told Reuters in April.
The U.S. Justice Department investigation is being run out of the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn, the sources said.
The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn also declined to comment.
Britain pulls equipment
In January 2013, Reuters reported that a Hong Kong-based firm that attempted to sell embargoed Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to Iran's largest mobile-phone operator had much closer ties to China's Huawei Technologies than was previously known.
The news comes the same day Britain's BT Group said it was removing Huawei's equipment from the core of its existing 3G and 4G mobile operations and would not use the Chinese company in central parts of the next network.
The Huawei statement said Meng, who also has gone by the English names Cathy and Sabrina, was detained when she was transferring flights in Canada.
The handset and telecommunications equipment maker said it complies with all applicable export control and sanctions laws and U.S. and other regulations.
The arrest drew a quick reaction in Washington.
U.S. Senator Ben Sasse praised the action and said that it was "for breaking U.S. sanctions against Iran." He added: "Sometimes Chinese aggression is explicitly state-sponsored and sometimes it's laundered through many of Beijing's so-called 'private' sector entities."
Stocks tumble
U.S. stock futures tumbled, followed by Asian markets, as news of the arrest heightened the sense a major collision was brewing between the world's two largest economic powers, not just over tariffs but also over technological hegemony.
While investors initially greeted the trade cease-fire reached in Argentina with relief, the mood has quickly soured on skepticism that the two sides can reach a substantive deal.
S&P500 e-mini futures ESc1 were down almost 2 percent at one point in thin Asian morning trade Thursday.
Get a daily dose of Malaysia Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Malaysia Sun.
More InformationDHAKA, Bangladesh - Scores of people have died tragically in a fire that has ripped through apartment buildings, a restaurant ...
1. Bangladesh inferno kills at least 70 Officials say they were taking actions to rid old Dhaka of chemical warehouses, ...
Flash floods and heavy winter rains have killed at least 26 people in Pakistan's southwest and central regions, officials said ...
Lawmakers in Laos are urging the government to be stricter on foreign business entities in the country in an effort ...
A devastating fire raced through densely packed buildings in an old part of Bangladesh's capital and killed at least 70 ...
Cape Town - The Proteas produced an uncanny replica of their first innings batting effort in the first Test match ...
NEW YORK, New York - Three separate pieces of economic data tabled on Thursday put pay to this week's rally on U.S. ...
WASHINGTON DC - U.S. President Donald Trump has hinted he may be about to open a new front in his ...
SYDNEY, Australia - Stocks in Asia rose across the board on Thursday with news oiut of Washington that U.S. and ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks made modest gains on Wednesday as investors and traders contemplated minutes of the ...
DUBLIN, Ireland - Ireland's Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed met up with Jean-Yves Le Drian, the ...
SYDNEY, Australia - Investors ansd traders in Asia were in a good mood Wednesday sending all the major indices out ...
DUBLIN, Ireland - Following its successful acquisition of Hollywood-based Blindlight, Irish video-gaming company Keywords Studios has now announced its latest accomplishment. Keywords r ...
Read More