Meng Wanzhou, Chief Financial Officer of Huawei Technologies Co. was granted bail by a Canadian court, allowing the executive to stay in her Vancouver home as she awaits a possible deportation to the US over fraud charges, reported Bloomberg.
Justice William Ehrcke of the British Columbia Supreme Court agreed to release Meng after four former colleagues and friends joined her husband in pledging a combined C$10 million ($7.5 million) in cash and home equity to support her bail request. By agreeing to act as sureties, the five people confirmed to ensure that she doesn't flee and abides by other bail terms. Meng, 46, will be subject to surveillance at her Vancouver home by a combination of security guards and technology as part of the agreement.She surrendered her Chinese and Hong Kong passports as well.
Meng was arrested on Dec 1 at the request of U.S. authorities as she changed planes in Vancouver on her way to Mexico. The mother of four is accused of conspiring to defraud banks to unwittingly clear transactions linked to Iran, in violation of U.S. sanctions. The U.S. has 60 days from the arrest date to turn over its full extradition case with supporting evidence.
Over the weekend, China called Meng detention "unreasonable, unconscionable and vile in nature" .It also threatened Canada with "grave consequences" if she is further kept captive.The country has not expanded on what the repercussions could be.
Following the threat,there was a cancellation of the Chinese leg of a provincial forestry trade trip through Asia,as a precaution.