The third line of the Meng Wanzhou case: What is HSBC?

Author: Wu Ziqin Source: Hong Kong 01

In July, after Britain decided to ban the 5G related equipment of Huawei in Chinese companies, Huawei's vice chairman Meng Wanzhou's extradition case in Canada also faced important nodes.

Earlier, the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Canada ruled in May 2020 that in the two complaints of Meng Wanzhou in the United States, financial fraud constituted dual crimes in the United States and Canada.Consistent with the United States in terms of values.The first stage of the case was settled.

On July 27, the Meng Wanzhou extradition case hearing will be held again in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada.From the second stage of the case in April 2021, the Supreme Court of British Columbia will judge the two main lines:

1: Law Enforcement process infringement: whether the Federal Investigation Agency (FBI), the Canadian Security Intelligence Agency (CSIS) and the Royal Canadian Madrid (RCMP) were arrested at the Vancouver Airport on December 1, 2018, violating Meng WanThe constitutional rights and interests of the boat.

Two: Political intervention: Whether the United States constitutes political interference in the process of the United States.

In this regard, Canadian prosecutors have previously disclosed a series of related documents to the lawyer team of Meng Wanzhou at the requirements of the court, but a large amount of key information has been painted or deleted; in addition, Canadian prosecutors have repeatedly called on the court to further disclose the complete information MDASH; MDASH; this situation naturally aroused high attention of public opinion.

However, a batch of materials disclosed by the Supreme Court of British Columbia on July 23 made people notice that the case was extremely important but not mentioned at the current stage.

The material disclosed by the court was submitted by the Meng Wanzhou Lawyer Team on July 17. In addition to the content of infringement and political intervention in the law enforcement process, there is also a series of recording of MDASH between Huawei and HSBC Bank;These materials shown that the charges of Meng Wanzhou's fraud in HSBC at the moment of the Canadian prosecutor and the US Department of Justice were not established.That is, the third main line of this case: The allegations are not true.

And all of this need to be mentioned from HSBC and Huawei's unusual invitation in August 2013, a high -frequency PowerPoint file.

On August 22, 2013, the second phase of the Central IFC Plaza in Hong Kong (steak restaurant) Agnegrave; s b. Le Pain Grille at La Loggia loggia loggia loggia receiving a table for guests, which was the person in charge of the global banking business of HSBC Asia Pacific.Meng Wanzhou, a member of the Huawei board of directors and chief financial officers, and other staff members.In the environment where the decoration was high -end, the lights were dark, but slightly noisy, the two sides started a very pleasant, about 2 hours of conversation around a PowerPoint file.

Who knows, it was that meeting and that PowerPoint file, which later became the fuse of the United States to sue Meng Wanzhou to fraud HSBC.The materials disclosed by the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Canada are also related to it.

For that meeting, Reuters had exclusively reported in February 2019 based on a HSBC internal document.Briefly summarized: Meng Wanzhou introduced Alan Thomas at that meeting that Huawei had a business with Iran from 2009 to 2012, and afterwards, under HSBC's reproduction, he provided the English version of the PowerPoint.

The materials disclosed by the Supreme Court of BC on July 23 once again determined the previous reports of Reuters.However, in a key information, the content disclosed by the court was different from MDash; MDash; according to Reuters earlier reports, the meeting between Alan Thomas and Meng Wanzhou was held under Huawei's request.However, according to the materials disclosed by the current court, after many invitations from HSBC since July 2013, Meng Wanzhou went to Hong Kong to meet with it on August 22.

In addition, according to the materials disclosed by the court, there are still a few extremely strange meetings.

First, the position of Alan Thomas HSBC Asia Pacific's global banking business in Asia Pacific was not targeting the difference between Meng Wanzhou, who was the chief financial officer and member of the board of directors at the time, and was not targeting.However, HSBC has always insisted on seeing members of Huawei decision -making.A report from Alan Thomas issued an invitation to Meng Wanzhou to make a report from HSBC and Huawei, and it was strange.

Secondly, Alan Thomas invited several times, but did not send an invitation email according to the routine business.

Third, the meeting of picking a house was to show that Huawei and Iran's business exchanges, but HSBC was not arranged in formal business places. Instead, he chose to pick up a house with noisy in the HSBC headquarters and the flow of people.

Fourth, at the end of the work meeting, after Meng Wanzhou returned to Shenzhen, Alan Thomas repeatedly asked the PowerPoint file many times afterwards, and asked to provide an English version.

In the private room of the chopped house, for 2 hours of communication, a Chinese Powerpoint prepared in advance, the name of the document is trust, compliance, and cooperation. Meng Wanzhou introduced Skycom and Huawei's business situation in Iran, includingIts related business does not violate the sanctions of Iran by the United Nations, the European Union and the United States.

Many years later, this meeting was described by the United States as Meng Wanzhou concealed the relationship between Huawei and Skycom, while HSBC was described as the victims of financial fraud, so they endured potential risks.

However, the most weird thing is just as Reuters reported in 2019: During the months after HSBC, HSBC evaluated whether to continue to maintain business relationship with Huawei, and believed that business exchanges with Huawei did not constitute reputation risksEssenceIn fact, HSBC did not terminate the business exchanges with Huawei until 2017.

The timeline of the event needs to be talked about in 2009

In the final analysis, the core of this problem that causes global political turmoil is that the US Department of Justice accused Meng Wanzhou suspected of being suspected of from 2009 to 2014, through the company named Skycom Tech. Co.,Trade trade with Iran and concealed the relevant situation to HSBC, which caused HSBC to violate the US sanctions on Iran without knowing it, so it may face losses.

As we all know, since the Revolution of Iran in 1979, the US sanctions have never stopped and overlapped.Since Barack Obama was the US President in 2009, in order to promote Iran's nuclearization negotiations, sanctions chips have been increased.This has greatly improved the cost and cost of maintaining business exchanges with Iran.

In view of this, Huawei has gradually reduced business exchanges with Iran after the evaluation.Including all Skycom shares that were previously held in 2009, Meng Wanzhou himself also withdrew from the Skycom board of directors in April 2009.In December 2012, Huawei and Skycom ended their exchanges between the two sides, and Huawei also terminated related businesses with HSBC in Iran.

Next, it was the meeting between Meng Wanzhou and Alan Thomas in the IFC house in Central. Meng Wanzhou summarized the business of Huawei and Skycom in Iran in the past few years.HSBC was under regulatory in the United States. After the meeting, the English version of the PowerPoint file was specifically requested, and in the next few months, it was evaluated by its strong compliance committee., So continue to cooperate with Huawei until 2017.

It was 3 years later.According to Reuters, in order to be able to avoid criminal sanctions in the United States*, HSBC resumed a series of internal investigations against Huawei at the end of 2016 and in 2017In the process of several government reports, the PowerPoint file was submitted to the mdash; mdash; in 2017, HSBC unilaterally terminated all business exchanges with Huawei for more than 20 years.

Note: In 2012, HSBC was imposed by US $ 1.92 billion for money laundering and funding international terrorism, and signed a five -year delayed prosecution agreement with the US Department of Justice (DPA).Cooperate with the US Department of Justice, otherwise the U.S. Department of Justice has the right to withdraw the agreement and proposes criminal charges to HSBC.

After that, it was a series of events arrested on December 1, 2018, and subsequent parties.

It is necessary to mention that one of the important proof materials for the US Department of Justice to sue Meng Wanzhou is the PowerPoint file.According to the US Department of Justice, Meng Wanzhou claimed that Huawei had sold Skycom's shares in 2009. The relationship between the two parties was only a business partner. In fact, Skycom is still Huawei informal subsidiary, which caused HSBC Bank to deal with it.A $ 100 million financial settlement services related to Skycom may violate the US economic sanctions against Iran and make HSBC facing potential risks.

Therefore, the relationship between Huawei and Skycom, and the explanation of the relationship between Huawei and Skycom in the Powerpoint of Meng Wanzhou, is now the main point of the United States Department of Justice that the Ministry of Justice has sued Meng Wanzhou.

However, this is exactly the main line of defense in the law enforcement process infringement and US political intervention in this law enforcement process. It is also the most fundamental issue: the prosecution is not true and confuses audiovisual.

HSBC has nothing to do with the relationship between Huawei and Skycom.From beginning to end, HSBC knows the business of Huawei and Iran.

Confusion of audiovisual accusations

Before HSBC's business at the end of 2017, Huawei, as HSBC for nearly 20 years, is one of the most important customers in both the scale or frequent.During the most important Benne cases from 2009 to 2012, the financial settlement of Huawei and Iran's related businesses has been processed by HSBC.

As we all know, the entire business settlement of enterprises is given to the agency financial institutions, that is, HSBC knows that Huawei's business in Iran and whether the US dollar settlement has always been HSBC's choice.

According to the materials disclosed by the court, HSBC always knows Huawei's Iranian business.In 2010, it involved the three parties to the email certificate that HSBC fully aware that Huawei's relationship with Skycom.It can be seen from Huawei's Skycom 2009/2010 financial report that HSBC fully understands Skycom's business situation in Iran.

In addition, HSBC claimed that only grassroots employees knew the business of Huawei and Skycom in Iran, and the company's senior management was unclear.However, the evidence submitted by the lawyer team of Meng Wanzhou shows that employees at different regions, different businesses, and different levels of HSBC are communicating with Huawei to directly communicate Skycom's banking business. For example, a post is a senior vice president (SVP).Hong Kong employees communicate with Huawei employees to communicate with the business of Skycom bank accounts, and HSBC also proactively requested that the Huawei Bantian base for MDASH; MDASH; calling SVP as a grass -roots employee is really puzzling.

In this case, the prosecution's statement concealed the relationship between Huawei and Skycom for Meng Wanzhou, thereby having a fraud to HSBC. As a result, HSBC faced the risk of sanctions when dealing with related business.As a further supplement, the prosecution also demonstrated a lot of evidence to analyze the relationship between Huawei and Skycom in 2009 and after 2012.

The problem is that this approach is originally confusing audiovisual.HSBC knows from beginning to end, and provides financial services for Huawei's related business in Huawei. Even on August 22, 2013, Meng Wanzhou completed a statement from Alan Thomas. After HSBC also evaluated for several months, I still thought that with Huawei, I still thoughtCooperation does not constitute risks, so what does the saying of fraud HSBC come?

When HSBC submitted the materials to the United States in 2017, the attitude of the United States has undergone essential changes with its 2013 evaluation results.Did HSBC get any new information during this period?not at all.At least now the prosecution accuses Meng Wanzhou's core evidence of fraud in HSBC, it is still the PowerPoint.

As a result, from the meeting of the Hong Kong Central IFC Plaza on August 22, 2013, until now, the Meng Case was promoted on the one hand in the Court of the Supreme Court in Canada.Among the many related parties that the Canadian government, the White House, the Chinese government, and even the relationships affected by the relationship between Sino -US relations, people have found that the most doubtful point is that it is not the right to infringe Meng Wanzhou's rights and interests during the arrest process.Political intervention from the White House is HSBC.

HSBC held this key evidence for more than three years. Why did it continue to do business with Huawei at first, and then submitted it to the US Department of Justice. What prompted HSBC to do so?What role is HSBC in the whole process?

Looking back, why did Alan Thomas and Meng Wanzhou have so many doubts about the 2013 meeting?What caused HSBC's attitude change in 2013 and 2017?Reuters previously reported that HSBC, accused by lawyers of Meng Wanzhou, cooperated with the US Department of Justice to be trapped in Huawei and Meng Wanzhou?Why does HSBC have 20 years of cooperation with Huawei in 2017?In a series of surveys made by HSBC in cooperation with the US government in 2017, why did HSBC give his former customer PowerPoint to the United States?In December 2017, why did the United States compliance regulators believe that HSBC's compliance was still in great defects, and it was extremely rare that the prosecution agreement was not renewed, and all criminal charges to HSBC were revoked?

It is also treacherous that after September 2017, Alan Thomas has begun to enjoy retirement.He is also an owner of a hotel and likes outdoor activities and golf.Many media cannot contact the mysterious party, and he has no public development.

With the further advancement of the case, the court further disclosed the information, and it is believed that the case will become more and more clear.As far as is concerned, people's interests have been provoked.