Canadian court releases Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou on bail

A Canadian court has granted bail to a top executive of Chinese telecom giant Huawei while she awaits an extradition hearing, following her arrest at the request of the United States.

Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer and daughter of its founder, was arrested as part of a US fraud investigation on December 1 as she was changing planes in Vancouver.

“The risk of her non-attendance in court (for a future extradition hearing) can be reduced to an acceptable level by imposing the bail conditions proposed by her council,” Justice William Ehrcke said on Tuesday, prompting the courtroom packed with her supporters to erupt in cheers.

The arrest of Meng, 46, roiled financial markets and complicated efforts to resolve a trade war dispute between the US and China, the world’s two largest economies.

Washington has accused Huawei of using a Hong Kong shell company to sell equipment in Iran in violation of its sanctions. It also says that Meng and Huawei misled banks about the company’s business dealings in Iran.

On Monday, China detained a former Canadian diplomat in Beijing in apparent retaliation.

More to follow…