Two days ago, Canadian police arrested the chief financial officer of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, following an extradition request by the United States government. Wanzhou was arrested for allegedly covering up Huawei's links to a company that tried to sell equipment to Iran — a country under trade sanctions by the United States.

Due to Huawei being one of the largest companies operating in China, and Meng Wanzhou being daughter of Huawei's founder, the arrest has received widespread international media coverage. The extradition hearing in Canada is currently adjourned until Monday. China's vice-foreign minister, Le Yicheng, reportedly said Canada should release Wanzhou immediately or face "grave consequences that the Canadian side should be held accountable for."

Earlier this year, Huawei's big splash into the U.S. smartphone market was dashed after multiple carriers dropped plans to sell the Mate 10. This was allegedly due to pressure from the U.S. government over fears of Huawei being a security threat, given its close relationship with the Chinese government. Australia and New Zealand have passed laws banning Huawei from using 5G equipment, and the U.S. is pressuring Canada to do the same thing. The Japanese government also has concerns about using Huawei's network equipment.

If Huawei did actively avoid U.S. sanctions to Iran, it wouldn't have been the only Android OEM to do so. ZTE nearly shut down earlier this year after the U.S. government placed a trade ban on the company. The ban was lifted in July after ZTE paid $1 billion in fines and fired its entire board of directors.

UPDATE: 2018/12/11 7:17pm PST BY CORBIN DAVENPORT

CNN reports that Meng Wanzhou has been released on a $10 million bail ($6.7 million USD) while her extradition hearings continue. She has agreed to surrender her passports, live in her Vancouver home, and wear a GPS ankle bracelet at all times.

The extradition process is expected to take months, and Meng is due back in court on February 6th.

Source: The Globe, The Guardian