Canadian authorities have arrested the chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies in Vancouver, B.C.
Wanzhou Meng, who also goes by Sabrina Meng, was arrested in Vancouver on Saturday, Dec. 1, Department of Justice Canada spokesperson Ian McLeod told Global News.
He said Meng faces extradition to the U.S., and that a bail hearing has been set for Friday.
“As there is a publication ban in effect, we cannot provide any further detail at this time,” McLeod said. He added that the publication ban was sought by Meng.
Huawei has not responded to Global News’ request for comment.
U.S. authorities have been probing Huawei’s alleged shipping of American-origin products to Iran in violation of U.S. export and sanctions laws, sources told Reuters in April.
Meng, the 46-year-old daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, has previously been suspected of involvement in Huawei’s alleged ties to Iran.
In 2013, Reuters revealed that Meng served on the board of Skycom Tech, a Hong Kong-based firm that attempted to sell embargoed computer equipment to Iran’s Mobile Telecommunication Co, in violation of trade sanctions.
At least 13 pages of a proposal to sell Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to Iran were marked “Huawei confidential.”
Skycom was described by Huawei as one of its “major local partners,” although the Chinese company said neither it nor Skycom ultimately provided the HP equipment.
Huawei said its relationship with Skycom was “a normal business partnership,” and said its business in Iran was in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.