Citigroup and BNP Paribas named in case against Huawei finance boss
Citigroup and BNP Paribas have been dragged into an ongoing US court case against the chief financial officer of Chinese tech firm Huawei.
The banks have been named in documents published by a Canadian court as part of extradition proceedings against Meng Wanzhou, who is currently under house arrest in the country.
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Meng, who is the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, has been accused of bank fraud and breaching US sanctions against Iran.
Citigroup and BNP Paribas are among the financial institutions that had dealings with Huawei and were allegedly misled by the finance boss.
Two other banks, HSBC and Standard Chartered, have previously been named in the case.
The court released the documents, alongside a video of Meng’s arrest at Vancouver airport in December, ahead of a hearing scheduled to begin on 23 September.
Lawyers for Meng have previously argued that the executive was unlawfully arrested. In the newly-released documents they allege Canadian authorities deliberately delayed her arrest to allow them to collect evidence as part of a “covert criminal investigation”.
The case has proved to be a second front in an ongoing cold war between China and the US, as tensions rise over President Donald Trump’s decision to blacklist Huawei.
Read more: Trump says he doesn’t want to do business with Huawei over ‘national security’ risk
Trump has previously suggested he could intervene in the case to help secure a trade deal with China, leading defence lawyers to argue that Meng’s possible extradition was being used for political purposes.
Meng and Huawei have denied any wrongdoing. BNP Paribas declined to comment. Citigroup has been contacted for comment.
Main image credit: Getty