In 2018 she was detained in Canada for questioning and was arrested on a provisional extradition request from the United States (“US”) for fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud in order to circumvent US sanctions against Iran. Since December 2018 she was under house arrest in Canada.
The US alleged that Wanzhou misled HSBC about Huawei’s relationship with the telecoms firm Skycom, in which it has a controlling share in order to obtain global finance. During a PowerPoint presentation to HSBC in Hong Kong in 2013, she was said to have deceived the bank by indicating that the company Skycom was a business partner and not a subsidiary of Huawei. At the time, Skycom was suspected of breaching US sanctions with Iran.
In February 2021 Gherson wrote a blog titled “Huawei’s CFO Down To The Last Bars In Fight Against Extradition To The US” detailing a further set back in Wanzhou’s fight against extradition from Canada to the US.
Extradition and cross-border allegations
This case has raised many interesting issues. In light of this case Gherson also wrote a blog in July 2021 titled “Meng Wanzhou extradition and cross-border allegations”.
Release and deferred prosecution agreement
On 27 September 2021 it was reported that Wanzhou had been released from detention in Canada and had returned to China. It was reported that Wanzhou was released after a deal between Canada and US prosecutors following a deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”).
Indeed, according to the Department of Justice (“DoJ”) Wanzhou “entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) and was arraigned on charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud and wire fraud”. As part of the DPA Wanzhou has agreed a statement of facts.
Analysis
This is arguably a good result for Wanzhou, however, maybe not so much for Huawei. As the New York Times have noted, the statement of facts can now be used by the DoJ as evidence in their case against Huawei, a case which it is also reported the DoJ is pursuing aggressively.
Interestingly, enabling individuals to enter DPAs is not an available feature under UK law where DPAs are available to a corporate body, partnership or unincorporated association. Gherson have previously written a blog on what is a Deferred Prosecution Agreements.
How Gherson can assist
Gherson solicitors have specific expert experience in relation to extradition, white-collar crime and deferred prosecution agreements. If you require advice or assistance with regards to Extradition or any issues identified above then please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.
©Gherson 2021