Canadian court grants bail to Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou

(FASTNEWS|COLOMBO) – A top executive of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd wanted by the United States to answer to fraud accusations was granted C$10 million ($7.5 million) bail by a Canadian court on Tuesday, a move that could help soothe Chinese anger over her arrest. Meng Wanzhou, 46, Huawei’s chief financial officer and the daughter of its founder, faces US claims that she misled multinational banks about Iran-linked transactions, putting the banks at risk of violating US sanctions.

In a court hearing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Justice William Ehrcke granted bail to Meng, who has been jailed since her arrest on December 1. She will be subject to monitoring, a curfew and other conditions. If a Canadian judge rules the case against Meng is strong enough, Canada’s justice minister must next decide whether to extradite her.

US President Donald Trump told Reuters on Tuesday he would intervene in the Justice Department’s case against Meng if it would serve national security interests or help close a trade deal with China.

The arrest of Meng has put a further dampener on Chinese relations with the United States and Canada at a time when tensions were already high over an ongoing trade war and U.S. accusations of Chinese spying.