The lawyer for Michael Spavor has announced that his client has reached a settlement with the federal government over his three-year detention in China. John Phillips stated in an email that the matter between Spavor and the federal government has been “resolved,” although he did not provide further details. Reports suggest that the settlement could be worth up to $7 million.
Spavor and diplomat Michael Kovrig were detained in late 2018 during a diplomatic crisis involving China, Canada, and the United States. Their arrests were widely seen as retaliation for the detainment of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on a U.S. extradition warrant. In a report last November, Spavor claimed that he was detained because he unknowingly shared sensitive intelligence with Kovrig that was later passed on to Ottawa and other foreign allies.
The two Michaels, as they came to be known, were released in September 2021 on the same day that Meng was released. Meng, who was facing charges related to violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, reached a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. that allowed for her release.