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Citigroup, BNP caught up in US case against Huawei CFO

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NEW YORK: US-based Citigroup and French bank BNP Paribas are caught up in the US criminal case against the chief financial officer of China’s Huawei Technologies, according to newly available documents.


The banks were named in documents released on Tuesday after a hearing in British Columbia Supreme Court where Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou is fighting extradition to the United States on bank fraud charges.


The two are among at least four financial institutions that had banking relationships with Huawei when Meng and others allegedly misled them about its business dealings in Iran despite US sanctions.


Two others, HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered, have been previously reported.


The banks are considered “victim” institutions in the 13-count indictment the United States brought against Meng and Huawei, which includes charges of bank and wire fraud, violating sanctions against Iran and obstructing justice.


Both she and Huawei have denied wrongdoing.


Representatives for the four banks did not immediately respond to emails from Reuters seeking comment. But Standard Chartered, Citigroup and BNP Paribas have previously declined to comment when asked by Reuters about their possible involvement in the Huawei case.


The court allowed the materials, including video of Meng’s arrest, to be made public in advance of a hearing scheduled to begin September 23 in Vancouver.


Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested at Vancouver’s airport in December on a US warrant and her lawyers argue she was unlawfully detained. They claim Canadian authorities delayed her arrest to allow the border patrol to gather evidence for the US as part of a “covert criminal investigation”.


In the video, Meng can be seen moving through the Vancouver airport customs and immigration area, escorted by border agents, and being questioned. In a transcript, Meng repeatedly asks why she was being detained and is told she can contact a lawyer, but not her family.


“My family members will be worried if they can’t find me,” she says.


Meng was searched and interrogated for hours in violation of her constitutional rights, her lawyers say. She spent more than a week in detention before being granted bail.


Diplomatic relations between Canada and China turned icy after Meng was detained and China subsequently arrested two Canadian citizens, charging them with espionage. It has also blocked imports of some Canadian commodities.


Meng and Huawei also have become part of the escalating US and China trade war.


US President Donald Trump said in December he would intervene in her case if it would help secure a deal with China, leading her lawyers to claim the extradition proceedings are being used for economic and political purposes.


In Tuesday’s court documents, they describe Trump’s comments about Meng as “corrosive of the rule of law”.


The US government also has taken other actions against Huawei, claiming it is involved in activities contrary to US national security or foreign policy interests. — Reuters


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