BROOKLYN — U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly ruled that statements made by Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou regarding the company's business in Iran are admissible in a criminal trial against Huawei. The ruling was filed in a federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday.

Judge Donnelly rejected Huawei's argument that prosecutors could not use Meng's admission against the company. "Meng was—and is still—Huawei Tech's CFO. Huawei Tech should not be able to object that admitting the statement of its senior executive about her conduct in connection with her job—which Huawei Tech adopted—violates Huawei Tech's rights." Judge Donnelly said. The judge also determined that it was unnecessary for Huawei to question Meng during the trial.

U.S. authorities issued a warrant, and Meng was arrested in Vancouver in 2018. She then remained under house arrest in Canada for approximately three years while contesting extradition to the U.S. A sealed indictment accused Meng and Huawei of bank fraud for misleading HSBC and other financial institutions about the company's operations in Iran.

Meng entered a deferred prosecution agreement in September 2021 during a remote court appearance from Vancouver. This agreement stipulated that criminal charges against Meng would be dismissed. In a four-page statement of facts, Meng acknowledged lying to a financial institution about Huawei's compliance with sanctions and export control law. A superseding indictment accused Huawei of stealing trade secrets and committing other offenses. Huawei stated that its corporate activities do not conflict with U.S. national security interests. Since 2019, the U.S. government has restricted Huawei's access to American technology. Jury selection for the criminal trial against Huawei is scheduled to begin on September 8.