US in talks to free Huawei CFO in exchange for mea culpa

Washington: The US Justice Department is discussing a deal with Huawei's finance chief, Meng Wanzhou, that would allow her to return to China from Canada, in exchange for admitting wrongdoing, a person familiar with the matter said.

Negotiations between Meng's lawyers and the department picked up after the US presidential election, the person said, but it was still unclear what kind of deal can be struck.

Meng now spends her days in Vancouver where she has taken up oil painting and devoted more time to reading while abiding by strict curfew measures.Credit: Bloomberg

Meng does not think she did anything wrong and therefore is reluctant to make admissions that she does not think are true, the person said.

The source said it did not appear to be part of a larger deal with Huawei.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the possible deal.

Meng, 48, was arrested in December 2018 on a warrant from the United States. She is facing charges of bank fraud for allegedly misleading HSBC about Huawei Technologies business dealings in Iran, causing the bank to break US sanctions.

Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi declined to comment. Huawei did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office and Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment.

The negotiations come after the Trump administration placed Huawei targeted the Chinese telecoms giant's business worldwide in an effort to thwart its ambitions to supply next generation 5G networks.

In pressuring other countries to drop Huawei from their cellular networks, the United States said it was worried its equipment could be used by Beijing for spying. The company has repeatedly denied the allegation.

Meng is due back in British Columbia Supreme Court on Monday as she fights extradition to the United States. Witnesses from the Canadian border agency and federal police testified for two weeks in November and face cross-examination.

Reuters