BEIJING, July 25 (Reuters) - HSBC on Saturday
denied Chinese media reports that it had "framed" Huawei
Technologies and played a role in the arrest of the chief
financial officer (CFO) of the world's biggest telecoms
equipment maker.
In a statement posted on the bank's Chinese WeChat messaging
service account, the London-headquartered lender said it did not
participate in the decision of the U.S. Department of Justice to
investigate Huawei.
The HSBC statement comes a day after China's official
People's Daily newspaper published a report accusing HSBC of
being an accomplice of the United States and lying about Huawei,
resulting in the arrest of its CFO Meng Wanzhou.
Meng was arrested in December 2018 at Vancouver
International Airport on a warrant from the United States.
She is accused by U.S. authorities of bank fraud for
misleading HSBC about Huawei's relationship with a company
operating in Iran, putting HSBC at risk of fines and penalties
for breaking U.S. sanctions on Tehran.
"The context of the development of the Huawei incident
clearly shows that the U.S. investigation of Huawei was not
triggered by HSBC," the bank said in its WeChat post, without
directly referring to the People's Daily report.
"HSBC has no malice against Huawei, nor has it 'framed'
Huawei," it said.
"In response to information requests from the U.S.
Department of Justice, HSBC only provided factual information.
HSBC has not 'fabricated' evidence or 'concealed' facts, nor
will it distort facts or harm any customers for our own
benefit."
The People's Daily report on Friday alleged HSBC was well
aware of Huawei's business in Iran, and had been "setting traps"
for the company since 2012.
Other Chinese media, including the China Global Television
Network, have made similar allegations against HSBC.
Meng is fighting extradition to the United States and has
said she is innocent. She has been in house arrest in Vancouver
since her detainment.
(Reporting by Gabriel Crossley; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee
and Mark Potter)