Meng Wanzhou exits her home in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on Sept. 24, 2021. Photo: Jimmy Jeong/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou reached a deal with the Justice Department that resolves the criminal charges against her and could pave the way for her to return to China, AP reports.
Why it matters: The deal settles a yearslong dispute involving the U.S., China and Canada, where Meng, Huawei's chief financial officer, has remained since her arrest there in December 2018, per AP.
State of play: The Trump administration's Justice Department in 2019 unveiled indictments against Meng and others associated with Huawei, accusing the tech giant of violating Iran trade sanctions.
- Meng was accused of attempting to skirt sanctions in 2007 by lying about Huawei's ownership of the Iranian business Skycom.
- The U.S. in 2019 formally asked Canada to extradite Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder.
- Last month, a Canadian judge reserved her decision on whether Meng should be extradited to the U.S. after a Canadian Justice Department lawyer said that there was sufficient evidence to show that Meng was dishonest, AP writes.
Between the lines: The resolution is a deferred prosecution, meaning the defendant must follow certain conditions in exchange for the Justice Department to ultimately abandon the case.
Go deeper: DOJ charges Huawei CFO with violating Iran trade sanctions