Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou Sent Bullets, Threats During Trial

Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou has been sent bullets and death threats in the mail while under house arrest in Vancouver, according to court testimony given late Wednesday by the company providing her security.

Meng, the chief financial officer of Huawei and the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested at Vancouver's airport Dec. 1, 2018.

Her bail conditions let her live in a C$13.6 million ($10.7 million) home, one of two properties she owns in Vancouver, while fighting extradition to the U.S. on charges she defrauded HSBC Holdings plc by lying about Huawei's activities in Iran.

Doug Maynard, chief operating officer of security company Lions Gate Risk Management, spoke about the threats while testifying before the British Columbia Supreme Court Wednesday.

Meng received "five or six" threatening letters delivered to her house over the summer.

"These letters were easily identifiable by markings on the outside," the security chief said. "Sometimes there were bullets inside."

Meng is allowed outside from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. but must stay away from Vancouver International Airport. She has to wear a GPS tracker and is accompanied at all times by the private guards from Lions Gate.

These precautions are partially for her protection. The biggest risks facing her guards aside from her escape include Meng being a target for extortion and violence and that she will be abducted by foreign governments or criminal groups, Maynard told the court.

"We believe the risks for some of these factors are actually rising," he said. The window of opportunity for these activities disappears when the trial concludes and Meng is either sent home to China or extradited to the U.S.

Meng's legal team is hoping to remove two bail conditions requiring guards to accompany her outside the home. But Canada authorities consider Meng a flight risk with great resources at her disposal - making any changes to bail unlikely.

The Huawei chief financial officer remains trapped in Vancouver but Canada's immigration department recently granted COVID-19 travel restriction exemptions to Meng's husband and two children. They spent Christmas together.

Her husband and the couple's two children live in Hong Kong.