Meng Wanzhou, vice chairman of Chinese telecommunication equipment maker Huawei, which has been a key issue in the U.S.-China conflict, was released on the 24th local time.
Two Canadians who had been imprisoned in China for espionage in connection with the arrest of Meng, after about three years of being under house arrest in Canada, were also released shortly after Meng’s release.
According to foreign media reports, the U.S. Department of Justice has reached an agreement to postpone the prosecution of Meng’s financial fraud case in exchange for acknowledging some wrongdoing in relation to Iran sanctions.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office in New York City has reached an agreement to delay the prosecution in the Brooklyn federal court in charge of the case, and Meng appeared in court via teleconference, acknowledging responsibility for failing to properly inform HSBC about Huawei’s Iranian business.
Shortly after the court ruling, Vice Chairman Meng said that his life had been ruined for the past three years and that it was a difficult time as a mother, wife, and company executive.
In January 2019, U.S. prosecutors indicted Meng on charges of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran using a Hong Kong spoof company to export equipment to Iran, and sought extradition of Meng from Canada.
However, Meng filed a lawsuit in a Canadian court and was granted bail on condition that he only stay in his Vancouver home.
The arrest of Meng was one of the representative examples of the US-China conflict that escalated in many ways during the US trade war between the former Trump administration and China over advanced technology.
Bloomberg reported that the release could be a breakthrough in the escalating U.S.-China conflict.
YTN Kim Jung-hoe (junghkim@ytn.co.kr)
[저작권자(c) YTN & YTN plus 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
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