You may not
have heard of her, but Meng Wenzhou aged 49 is Chinese royalty. She is the
chief financial officer of the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. Her
father, Rhen Zhengfei is the founder of Huawei.
For the last three years, she has been
under house arrest in one of her two luxurious mansions in Vancouver. She had
to wear an ankle bracelet. Guards were posted around her home around the clock.
She had to post a giant bail in excess of $10 million US. It was as if she were
serving a prison sentence under house arrest.
What prompted this confinement? She was
charged in US District Court in Brooklyn with lying to major banks to evade
sanctions against Iran. She was fighting extradition back to the US where she
faced what I estimated to be 7 years in prison.
This confinement caused huge diplomatic
tensions between the US, Canada, and China. Two Canadian citizens, Michael
Spavor and Michael Kovig were arrested after Meng's arrest. Both were charged
with espionage. Mr. Spavor was sentenced to 11 years in a Chinese prison.
I awakened this morning to see the
shocking news that Meng Wenzhou was released from house arrest and allowed to
return to China. Shortly afterward, the two Canadians were released from
custody and allowed to return to Canada.
Meng had attended a US District Court
hearing by video. She admitted to committing the crimes laid out in the
indictment. She did not plead guilty to a felony. She was put on deferred prosecution
until December of 2022. I also assume that she had to pay a large fine of
several million dollars. That detail was not made public.
Meng's legal bills in the US and Canada
easily reached $20 million US. She was forced to serve a jail sentence (under
house arrest) of almost 3 years.
It was a painful and expensive experience
for her as well as the US, Canadian, and Chinese governments. The negotiations
must have been intense and long drawn out. When the deal was done, they finally
needed the approval of US District Court Judge Ann Donnelly. Rarely do US
District Court judges approve such deals.
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