孟晚舟被控欺詐，涉嫌違反美國對伊朗制裁禁令

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The reasons that the United States asked the Canadian authorities to arrest a top executive of the Chinese technology company Huawei last week had been shrouded in mystery.

不列顛哥倫比亞省溫哥華——美國要求加拿大當局上周逮捕中國科技企業(yè)華為一名高管的原因一直蒙著神秘的色彩。

On Friday, the details of the arrest and what led up to it came out in a Canadian courtroom.

周五，人們在加拿大一家法庭獲知了逮捕的細節(jié)及原因。

At a bail hearing in Vancouver for Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei and a daughter of the company’s founder, Canadian prosecutors said she was accused of fraud. The heart of the charges related to how Ms. Meng may have participated in a scheme to trick financial institutions into making transactions that violated United States sanctions against Iran, they said.

在溫哥華一個有關保釋華為首席財務官、公司創(chuàng)始人之女孟晚舟的聽證會上，加拿大檢方表示，她被控欺詐。他們說，對孟晚舟指控的核心是，她可能參與了一項陰謀，誘使金融機構進行違反美國對伊朗制裁的交易。

Ms. Meng had “direct involvement” with Huawei’s representations to banks, said John Gibb-Carsley, an attorney with Canada’s Justice Department.

加拿大司法部律師約翰·吉布-卡斯利(John Gibb-Carsley)說，孟晚舟有“直接參與”華為向銀行的陳述。

The hearing shed light on an incident that has rattled the relationship between the United States and China as they prepare to enter negotiations to cease a brutal trade war. While changing planes in Vancouver on Dec. 1, Ms. Meng was arrested at the behest of the United States, which has for years looked into potential ties between Huawei and the Chinese government or Communist Party.

在美中兩國準備就停止一場殘酷的貿易戰(zhàn)展開談判之際，聽證會讓人們了解了一件令兩國關系緊張的事件。12月1日，孟晚舟在溫哥華轉機時，加拿大應美國的要求，將其逮捕，美國多年來一直在調查華為與中國政府或共產(chǎn)黨之間的潛在關系。

Because of Ms. Meng’s stature in China as a top executive and part of its elite, news of her arrest has rippled through the country.

由于其企業(yè)高管以及精英的地位，孟晚舟被捕的消息在中國引起了很大反響。

A Huawei spokesman said late Friday, “We have every confidence that the Canadian and U.S. legal systems will reach the right conclusion.”

華為發(fā)言人在周五晚些時候表示，“相信加拿大和美國的法律體系最終會給出公正的結論。”

With Ms. Meng, 46, seated inside a glass box at British Columbia’s Supreme Court, Mr. Gibb-Carsley laid out what had led to her arrest. He said that between 2009 and 2014, Huawei used a Hong Kong company, Skycom Tech, to make transactions in Iran and do business with telecom companies there, in violation of American sanctions. Banks in the United States cleared financial transactions for Huawei, inadvertently doing business with Skycom, he said.

在不列顛哥倫比亞省最高法院，吉布-卡斯利闡述了導致她被逮捕的原因，現(xiàn)年46歲的孟晚舟則坐在一個玻璃隔間內。他說，在2009年至2014年間，華為利用一家名為星通技術(Skycom Tech)的香港公司在伊朗經(jīng)商，與那里的電信公司做生意，這違反了美國對伊朗的制裁。他說，美國的銀行為華為的金融交易結了帳，無意之中與星通有了業(yè)務往來。

The banks were “victim institutions” of fraud by Ms. Meng, Mr. Gibb-Carsley said.

吉布-卡斯利說，這些銀行是孟晚舟欺詐行為的“受害機構”。

In 2013, articles by Reuters alleged that Huawei used Skycom to do business in Iran, and had tried to import American-made computer equipment into the country in violation of sanctions. Several financial institutions asked Huawei if the allegations were true, Mr. Gibb-Carsley said.

2013年，路透社(Reuters)曾發(fā)文稱，華為利用星通在伊朗做生意，并試圖違反制裁措施，把美國制造的計算機設備進口到伊朗。吉布-卡斯利說，幾家金融機構曾問過華為，這些指控是否屬實。

At the time, Ms. Meng arranged a meeting with an executive from one of the financial institutions, he said. During the meeting, she spoke through an English interpreter and presented PowerPoint slides in Chinese, saying that Huawei operated in Iran in strict compliance with United States sanctions. Ms. Meng explained that Huawei’s engagement with Skycom was part of normal business operations and that Huawei had sold the shares it once held in Skycom.

他說，當時孟晚舟安排了與其中一家金融機構高管的會議。在會上，她通過一名英文翻譯發(fā)言，并展示了用中文制作的PowerPoint幻燈片。她說，華為在伊朗的業(yè)務嚴格遵守了美國的制裁措施。孟晚舟解釋說，華為與星通的往來是正常商業(yè)運作的一部分，華為已經(jīng)出售了曾經(jīng)持有的星通股份。

But there was no distinction between Skycom and Huawei, Mr. Gibb-Carsley said. Huawei operated Skycom as an unofficial subsidiary, making efforts to keep the connection between the companies secret.

但星通與華為沒有區(qū)別，吉布-卡斯利說道。華為把星通作為一家非官方子公司來運作，并對兩家公司的關系努力保密。

Skycom employees used Huawei email addresses and had badges and a letterhead featuring the Huawei logo, he said. Skycom documents showed that an entity to which the company was sold in 2009 was also controlled by Huawei until at least 2014, according to an affidavit read in court.

他說，星通的員工使用華為的電子郵件地址，佩戴的門卡和使用的信箋都印有華為的標識。根據(jù)在法庭上宣讀的一份宣誓書，星通的文件顯示，2009年華為出售所持的星通股票時，購買股票的實體至少在2014年之前也由華為控制。

Ms. Meng’s presentation to the financial institution constituted fraud, Mr. Gibb-Carsley said. Her attorney, David Martin, said the bank was HSBC.

吉布-卡斯利說，孟晚舟向該金融機構的陳述構成了欺詐。孟晚舟的律師戴維·馬丁(David Martin)說，那家銀行是匯豐(HSBC)。

A global bank based in London with operations in the United States, HSBC has repeatedly landed in trouble with the American authorities for violating anti-money-laundering rules. As a result, HSBC had officials from a consulting firm, Exiger, stationed inside the bank to monitor its compliance. Exiger officials noticed suspicious Iranian-linked transactions involving Huawei and flagged them to the United States Justice Department, according to two people familiar with the matter who weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

匯豐是一家總部設在倫敦、在美國有業(yè)務的全球性銀行，曾多次因違反美國的反洗錢規(guī)定而受到美國當局的處罰。因此，匯豐安排了咨詢公司艾西格(Exiger)進駐該行，監(jiān)督其合規(guī)情況。據(jù)兩名知情人士說，艾西格的員工注意到了與伊朗有關、涉及華為的可疑交易，就將其通報給了美國司法部;因未獲得公開談論此事的授權，這兩人要求不具名。

Mr. Martin said Ms. Meng’s PowerPoint presentation to HSBC had been prepared by Huawei’s legal team and disclosed the sale of Skycom. He added that the American government had provided only a “skeletal description” of the accusations.

馬丁說，孟晚舟對匯豐做的PowerPoint演示是華為的法律團隊準備的，其中披露了出售星通股票的信息。他還說，美國政府對這些指控只提供了“梗概性的描述”。

Stuart Levey, the chief legal officer at HSBC, said, “The U.S. Department of Justice has confirmed that HSBC is not under investigation in this case.”

匯豐的首席法務官斯圖爾特·利維(Stuart Levey)說，“美國司法部已經(jīng)證實，匯豐不是這起案件的調查對象。”

Marc Raimondi, a spokesman for the Justice Department, declined to comment on the charges revealed in court on Friday.

美國司法部發(fā)言人馬克·雷蒙迪(Marc Raimondi)拒絕就周五在法庭上披露的指控予以置評。

The accusations against Ms. Meng and Huawei are similar to ones that the United States government made in 2016 against ZTE, another large Chinese technology company. In that case, American officials released internal ZTE documents in which executives had described creating “cutoff companies” that would do business with Iran, North Korea and other nations placed under sanctions by the American government.

對孟晚舟和華為的指控與美國政府在2016年對中國另一家大型科技公司中興通訊的指控類似。在那起案件中，美國官員公布了中興的內部文件，中興高管在文件中描述了成立“隔斷公司”的行為，利用這些公司與伊朗、朝鮮及其他受到美國政府制裁的國家做生意的辦法。

A warrant for Ms. Meng’s arrest was issued in the Eastern District of New York on Aug. 22, Mr. Gibb-Carsley said. A Canadian justice then issued a warrant for Ms. Meng on Nov. 30 after it became known that she would change planes in Vancouver on her way from Hong Kong to Mexico.

吉布-卡斯利說，紐約東區(qū)聯(lián)邦法院于8月22日發(fā)布了對孟晚舟的逮捕令。11月30日，在得知孟晚舟將在溫哥華轉機從香港前往墨西哥的消息后，加拿大一名法官對她發(fā)出了逮捕令。

Ms. Meng had traveled to the United States regularly in 2014, 2015, 2016, Mr. Gibb-Carsley said. Her last trip was in February and March 2017. In April 2017, Huawei found out about the United States investigation into the company when its subsidiaries were served with a grand jury subpoena, he said.

吉布-卡斯利說，孟晚舟在2014、2015、2016年曾經(jīng)常去美國。她最后一次去美國是在2017年2月和3月。2017年4月，在一個大陪審團傳喚了華為子公司后，華為發(fā)現(xiàn)美國正在對公司進行調查。

Ms. Meng and other executives then stopped visiting the United States, even though she has a 16-year-old son — one of three sons from a previous marriage — at a school in Boston, Mr. Gibb-Carsley said. Ms. Meng, who remarried, also has a daughter, according to an affidavit.

那之后，孟晚舟和其他華為高管就不再去美國了，盡管她16歲的兒子在波士頓念書——那是她和前夫的三個兒子之一。一份宣誓書顯示，孟晚舟再婚后還有一個女兒。

Mr. Martin pushed back on the idea that Ms. Meng had avoided the United States because she feared prosecution. After AT&T canceled a deal to distribute Huawei smartphones in the United States in January and the federal government banned the use of Huawei products in government contracts, Huawei essentially abandoned the market, Mr. Martin said.

馬丁駁斥了孟晚舟因為害怕被起訴而避免去美國的說法。他說，今年1月，AT&T取消了在美國銷售華為智能手機的交易，聯(lián)邦政府也禁止在政府合同中使用華為產(chǎn)品，之后華為基本上放棄了美國市場。

“An entity would have to be tone deaf to not understand that the United States had become a hostile place for Huawei to do business,” he said.

“只有充耳不聞的企業(yè)實體，才會不明白美國已成為華為開展業(yè)務的一個充滿敵意的地方，”他說。

Mr. Gibb-Carsley argued against bail for Ms. Meng. He said that she had vast financial resources and no strong ties in Canada, and that China had no extradition treaty with the United States or Canada.

吉布-卡斯利提出理由反對保釋孟晚舟。他說，她擁有巨大的財力資源，在加拿大沒有牢固的關系，中國也沒有與美國或加拿大簽訂引渡條約。

Mr. Martin offered two properties in Vancouver and a cash deposit to secure Ms. Meng’s bail. Ms. Meng would not breach a court order, he said, adding that doing so would “humiliate and embarrass her father, who she loves,” and embarrass Huawei’s thousands of employees. Ms. Meng’s father is Ren Zhengfei, Huawei’s founder.

馬丁提出把溫哥華的兩處房產(chǎn)和一筆現(xiàn)金存款作為孟晚舟保釋的保證金。他說，孟晚舟不會違反法院的命令，并補充，那樣做會“使她深愛的父親有失尊嚴、感到尷尬”，讓華為成千上萬的員工感到尷尬。孟晚舟的父親是華為創(chuàng)始人任正非。

“She would not embarrass China itself,” Mr. Martin said. When he later repeated that point, Ms. Meng touched her eyes and the sheriff gave her tissues.

“她不會讓中國自身難堪，”馬丁說。當他后來重復這一點時，孟晚舟觸摸了自己的眼睛，警長給了她紙巾。

By the end of the day, no bail had been set, and the judge in the case said the hearing would continue on Monday morning.

截至當天結束時，仍未確定是否保釋，本案法官表示，聽證會將在周一上午繼續(xù)進行。

Any extradition process can take weeks or months, depending on the rules of the country that arrests the suspect and whether the suspect chooses to fight the extradition request. The United States Justice Department must now present evidence to the Canadian court that supports its request and has 60 days from the arrest to make a full request for extradition.

任何引渡程序都可能需要數(shù)周或數(shù)月的時間，取決于逮捕嫌疑犯的國家的規(guī)則以及嫌疑犯是否選擇反對引渡請求。美國司法部現(xiàn)在必須向加拿大法院提交支持其請求的證據(jù)，并在逮捕后的60天內提出詳盡的引渡請求。