By Moira Warburton

VANCOUVER (Reuters) – After being stuck for nearly three years, largely confined to her multi-million-dollar Canadian house in a sought-after neighborhood in Vancouver, Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou looks set to return home to China.

Meng is like many Chinese top executives. But the 49-year old CFO at Huawei Technologies was highly tipped for one day to take over the leadership of her father’s tech firm.

Meng, who was being held at Vancouver International Airport for bank fraud charges after she allegedly misled HSBC (NYSE:) regarding Huawei’s Iran-related business transactions, was taken into custody in December 2018.

Meng came to an agreement on Friday with U.S. authorities in order to settle the case of bank fraud against her.

Meng will be released with personal recognizance bonds. The United States also plans to end its extradition request for Canada. It could open the door to her flying back to China.

Meng, who has been largely expressionless since her arrest on Friday, smiled wide when she went to a virtual court hearing in Brooklyn on Friday. The hearing was about her agreement with the United States.

After a Canadian court hearing in Vancouver on Friday, a final decision regarding Meng’s departure from Canada is expected.

China took Meng into custody shortly after Meng. It sentenced one of the Canadians to eleven years imprisonment for espionage. This was a move Canadians claimed was retaliation.

Beijing denied that there was any link between Meng’s arrest and the detentions.

Meng’s detention, which takes her family name and uses the English names “Cathy” or “Sabrina”, once more brought attention to Huawei in a period of increased security concern worldwide.

Meng maintained her composure throughout her dozens of court appearances. She was portrayed by her lawyers as an innocent victim in the trade war between China and America. Canadian lawyers argued that she had misled HSBC. Any nuances should have been argued before a U.S. judge.

Meng was under house arrest for close to 3 years in Vancouver. She is allowed to travel the city in daylight and to return to Shaughnessy at night, a prestigious neighborhood on the Pacific coast. Private security is used to monitor her 24/7. She pays this as part of the plea agreement.

Liu Xiaozong and her son and daughters were able visit her during the pandemic. According to an open letter she sent to Huawei employees on the anniversary of her arrest, Meng spent the time oil painting, reading, and working.

Huawei says Meng was an employee of the company from 1993 to 1998. In 1998 she received a master’s degree at Huazhong University of Science and Technology. From there, her career took her up through various financial and managerial positions.

The website states that she held positions such as director of the international accounting division, CFO at Huawei Hong Kong, or president of its accounting management section.

Meng stated that she was a secretary who had been hired by the company to make phone calls.

Her first appointment as a member of the board was in 2011. Insiders at the company describe her as hardworking, capable, and dedicated.

Her brother Meng Ping and her father’s younger brother as well as his wife and current spouse all work for Huawei and similar companies. However, no one has ever held senior managerial positions.

Huawei insiders see Meng as the probable successor to Ren Zhengfei. Ren Zhengfei, now 74, is the founder of China’s telecommunications firm. He has kept his profile low, as well as his older daughter Meng.

Huawei’s concern stems largely from Ren’s history with China’s People’s Liberation Army. Ren was an engineer in civilian capacity for the PLA for close to a decade, before his departure in 1983. After helping build their communications network.

Officials from some countries, especially the United States, are concerned that Huawei is connected to the Chinese military, and government.

Huawei repeatedly claimed that Beijing does not have any influence on it.

Huawei was distributing equipment worldwide at half the revenue when Meng was detained.

Since then, Western nations have distanced their selves from China’s tech giant. Trump put Huawei on an Export Blacklist. This prohibited it from using critical U.S. technology.

Huawei’s smartphone business was put under tremendous pressure by the ban. The company sold its affordable smartphone unit to an alliance of dealers and agents in November 2020 to maintain it.

Its 2020 annual report shows that 66% revenue comes from China.