Two Canadians jailed in China since 2018 for 'spying' are FREED after DOJ reaches deal to allow Huawei exec Meng Wanzhou to return home from Canada

 Two Canadians jailed in China since 2018 were freed after the U.S. Department of Justice reached a deal with China and an imprisoned Chinese communications executive. 

The two Canadian men - Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor - on are their way home, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters Friday night. 

This puts an end to a three-year, multi-country standoff that started late 2018 when Canadian authorities arrested Meng Wanzhou -  Huawei Technologies’ chief financial officer - at the Vancouver International Airport on behalf of the U.S. 

She was charged with fraud and accused of misrepresenting her company's business dealings in Iran.

Nine days later, Kovrig and Spavor were arrested in China on espionage charges, which was widely seen as a retaliation against Canada for helping the U.S.   

During a Friday night press conference, Trudeau said 'the Michaels' went through 'an unbelievably difficult ordeal.'

'It is good news for all of us that they are on their way home to their families,' he said. 'For the past 1,000 days, they have shown strength, perseverance, resilience and grace.' 

Trudeau deflected questions about what the development will mean for the strained relationship between Canada and China, Canadian news outlet CBC reported. 

Top executive of Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies Meng Wanzhou resolved criminal charges against her as part of a deal Friday with the U.S. Justice Department that paves the way for her to return to China

Top executive of Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies Meng Wanzhou resolved criminal charges against her as part of a deal Friday with the U.S. Justice Department that paves the way for her to return to China

Canadian businessman Michael Spavor (third from the left) is seen in this file phot from January 8, 2014 in North Korea with Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong Un.

Canadian businessman Michael Spavor (third from the left) is seen in this file phot from January 8, 2014 in North Korea with Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong Un. 

Michael Kovrig is pictured in this file photo -  taken on April 26, 2017

Michael Kovrig is pictured in this file photo -  taken on April 26, 2017

Kovrig and Spavor's release came just hours after after federal prosecutors in the U.S. reached an agreement with Meng, who is the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei.  

As part of the arrangement, federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss the fraud charges against Meng until late next year, and she agrees to accept responsibility for misrepresenting her company's business dealings in Iran.   

The agreement had a rapid dominoes effect that led to her extradition case to America being dropped and allowed her to return to China out of Vancouver airport.   

Meng, who had been detained in her multimillion dollar Vancouver home since her arrest, broke down in tears during Friday's virtual hearing in Brooklyn federal court. 


In January 2019, the Department of Justice indicted both Meng and Huawei, accusing both of embarking on a decade-long scheme to steal trade secrets, obstruct a criminal investigation and circumvent economic sanctions on Iran.

She faced charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. 

The charges underscored efforts by the Trump administration to link Huawei with the Chinese government, after suspicions that the company sought to advance Beijing’s economic and political ambitions while subverting American interests.

Meng, the daughter of the company's founder and CEO, Ren Zhengfei, faced charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud from the US

Meng, the daughter of the company's founder and CEO, Ren Zhengfei, faced charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud from the US

Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou broke down in tears after hearing she could finally head home to China after three years of house arrest in Vancouver, Canada

Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou broke down in tears after hearing she could finally head home to China after three years of house arrest in Vancouver, Canada

After being confined to her multimillion-dollar Vancouver, Canada, home for three years, Meng Wanzhou broke down in tears after the virtual hearing at a federal court in Brooklyn, where federal prosecutors agreed to the deal and dropped charges against her

After being confined to her multimillion-dollar Vancouver, Canada, home for three years, Meng Wanzhou broke down in tears after the virtual hearing at a federal court in Brooklyn, where federal prosecutors agreed to the deal and dropped charges against her

After Friday's arrangement, she's allowed to return home after she complied with the court's orders, including agreed to a 'statement of facts' admitting that she knowingly made false statements to HSBC.

During the trial, prosecutors announced that under the deferred prosecution agreement, the Justice Department will withdraw its extradition request to the Canadian authorities, in effect allowing her release as long as she adheres to the agreement's terms. 

Nicole Boeckmann, acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement that Ms. Meng had 'taken responsibility' for her role in fraudulently deceiving a global financial institution into doing business with a Huawei subsidiary in Iran in violation of U.S. law. 

The prosecution also added that the charges would be dropped completely on December 1 of next year. 

However, the DOJ said it is still continuing to prepare for trial against Huawei. 

'We look forward to proving our case against the company in court,' acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York Nicole Boeckmann declared in court Friday. 

Huawei Chief Financial officer Meng Wanzhou leaves her Vancouver home to attend her extradition hearing, September 24, 2021, in Vancouver, Canada

Huawei Chief Financial officer Meng Wanzhou leaves her Vancouver home to attend her extradition hearing, September 24, 2021, in Vancouver, Canada

Michelle Levin, Defense Attorney for Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, exits the Brooklyn Federal District Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., September 24

Michelle Levin, Defense Attorney for Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, exits the Brooklyn Federal District Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., September 24

Boeckmann added in a statement that Meng had, in fact, 'taken responsibility' for her role in fraudulently deceiving HSBC into doing business with a Huawei subsidiary based in Iran - which did directly violate U.S. law. 

Meng's defense team, however, has professed the executive's innocence throughout the case and her extradition trial in Vancouver, and argued that Trump had used her case as a political bargaining chip and that her rights had been violated when she was cuffed in Vancouver. 

Prosecutors announced Friday that under the deferred prosecution agreement, the Justice Department will withdraw its extradition request to the Canadian authorities, clearing the way for her release provided that she adheres to the agreement's terms. 

Prosecutors also recommended that Meng be released on a personal recognizance bond, which will allow her to be freed without any collateral. 

Meng pleaded not guilty to fraud charges. She could fly back to China as soon as Saturday, the BBC reported. 

The case has been the subject of intense debate between US and Chinese diplomats, and has caused a great deal of tension between the two at-odds superpowers - and has subsequently strained China's relations with Canada as well.

The agreement will likely alleviate a great deal of that tension, and will likely help build a case for the eventual release of two Canadians currently imprisoned in China, held on espionage charges - a likely retaliatory act to Meng's effective imprisonment.  

In an interview after Friday's trial, a member of Ms. Meng’s defense team, Michelle Lebin, announced that she was very pleased that 'Ms. Meng is free to go home and be with her family.'

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