Canada Court Names BNP, Citi in Huawei Case
Two more banks are caught up in the criminal case against Huawei's chief financial officer, who is currently fighting extradition to the United States.
U.S.-based Citigroup and French bank BNP Paribas have been named in court documents as among the banks that were misled by Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou about the Chinese telecom equipment maker's business dealings with Iran.
The two banks were named documents released on Tuesday after a hearing at the British Columbia Supreme Court, «Reuters» reported. At least four financial institutions – Standard Chartered and HSBC were previously named – are said to have had banking relationships with Huawei.
According to the report, the banks are considered «victim» institutions in the 13-count indictment, which alleges that Huawei, Meng and others violated sanctions against Iran and lied to the banks about the company's business dealings with the country.
U.S.-China Relations
Meng, the daughter of Huawei's billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei, was detained by Canadian authorities at Vancouver Airport on December 1. The case is at the center of the Sino-U.S. trade war that has affected markets on both sides of the Pacific.
Banks involved have also tried to distance themselves from the sparring between Beijing and Washington. HSBC is already facing criticism in China over its role in the case. According to a Financial Times report in August, Chinese ambassador to the U.K. Liu Xiaoming summoned HSBC's ex-CEO John Flint to the embassy earlier this year to interrogate him over the bank's role in Meng's arrest and prosecution.
Both Meng and Huawei have denied any wrongdoing. A hearing in Vancouver is set to begin on September 23.
