U.S. to pursue extradition of Huawei CFO from Canada

FILE PHOTO: Lisa Duan, a visitor from China, holds a sign in support of Huawei outside of the B.C. Supreme Court bail hearing of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who is being held on an extradition warrant in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada December 10, 2018. REUTERS/David Ryder/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday that it will pursue the extradition of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd's [HWT.UL] chief financial officer, arrested in Canada in December on allegations that she participated in a conspiracy to defraud banks.

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou faces accusations in the United States that she misrepresented her company's links to a firm that tried to sell equipment to Iran despite sanctions.

The U.S. statement came the day after a report that Canada's ambassador to the United States said the Canadian government was told that Washington planned to proceed. The ambassador, David MacNaughton, told The Globe and Mail on Monday that he had voiced Canadian resentment about the dispute that ended in Meng's arrest. China later detained two Canadians and imposed the death penalty on a third.

"We will continue to pursue the extradition of defendant Ms. Meng Wanzhou, and will meet all deadlines set by the U.S./Canada Extradition Treaty," Marc Raimondi, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, said in a statement. "We greatly appreciate Canada's continuing support of our mutual efforts to enforce the rule of law."

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)