The chief financial officer and daughter of the founder of Chinese telecom firm Huawei has reportedly been arrested in Canada, at the request of US authorities.
Meng Wanzhou, also known as Sabrina Meng or Cathy Meng, was picked up by Canadian officials on 1 December, according to Canadian Justice Department spokesman Ian McLeod.
Meng was “sought for extradition by the United States, and a bail hearing has been set for Friday”, McLeod said in a statement, first reported by the Globe and Mail.
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He was unable to provide any further information as to why Meng had been arrested, as the accused has applied for and received a publication ban in Canada.
However, The Washington Times says that it was reported earlier this year that US authorities had been “investigating whether Chinese tech giant Huawei violated sanctions on Iran”.
China’s embassy in Canada has demanded her release, while Huawei said it was “not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms Meng”.
News of her arrest came shortly after BT announced that it would be removing Huawei equipment from “key areas” of its existing mobile network.
It also comes “at a sensitive time for US-China relations”, says the BBC. “The arrest will not help the 90-day tariff truce the nations agreed after President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met at the G20.”