The US rarely arrests senior businesspeople, US or foreign, for alleged
crimes committed by their companies. Corporate managers are usually
arrested for their alleged personal crimes (such as embezzlement,
bribery, or violence) rather than their company’s alleged malfeasance.
Yes, corporate managers should be held to account for their company’s
malfeasance, up to and including criminal charges; but to start this
practice with a leading Chinese businessperson, rather than the dozens
of culpable US CEOs and CFOs, is a stunning provocation to the Chinese
government, business community, and public.
Meng is charged with
violating US sanctions on Iran. Yet consider her arrest in the context
of the large number of companies, US and non-US, that have violated US
sanctions against Iran and other countries. In 2011, for example, JP
Morgan Chase paid $88.3 million in fines in 2011 for violating US
sanctions against Cuba, Iran, and Sudan. Yet Jamie Dimon wasn’t grabbed
off a plane and whisked into custody.
And JP Morgan Chase was
hardly alone in violating US sanctions. Since 2010, the following major
financial institutions paid fines for violating US sanctions: Banco do
Brasil, Bank of America, Bank of Guam, Bank of Moscow, Bank of
Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Clearstream Banking,
Commerzbank, Compass, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, ING, Intesa
Sanpaolo, JP Morgan Chase, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, National Bank of
Pakistan, PayPal, RBS (ABN Amro), Société Générale, Toronto-Dominion
Bank, Trans-Pacific National Bank (now known as Beacon Business Bank),
Standard Chartered, and Wells Fargo.
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None of the CEOs or
CFOs of these sanction-busting banks was arrested and taken into custody
for these violations. In all of these cases, the corporation – rather
than an individual manager – was held accountable. Nor were they held
accountable for the pervasive lawbreaking in the lead-up to or aftermath
of the 2008 financial crisis, for which the banks paid a staggering
$243 billion in fines, according to a recent tally. In light of this
record, Meng’s arrest is a shocking break with practice. Yes, hold CEOs
and CFOs accountable, but start at home in order to avoid hypocrisy,
self-interest disguised as high principle, and the risk of inciting a
new global conflict.
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Quite transparently, the US
action against Meng is really part of the Trump administration’s broader
attempt to undermine China’s economy by imposing tariffs, closing
Western markets to Chinese high-technology exports, and blocking Chinese
purchases of US and European technology companies. One can say, without
exaggeration, that this is part of an economic war on China, and a
reckless one at that.
