Two large British banks are among those ensnared in the controversy over Huawei Technologies, which escalated over the weekend after the Chinese government warned Canada it would face “severe consequences” if it did not release the Chinese telecommunications giant’s finance chief.

Canada this month arrested Meng Wanzhou at the behest of US authorities, who are seeking her extradition over allegations she misled banks about Huawei’s business dealings with Iran to skirt international sanctions against that country. Meng, 46 years old, is in the midst of hearings in Vancouver that are expected to reconvene Monday and lead to a decision on bail.