Huawei CFO Meng's lawyers call US evidence in extradition case 'unreliable'

Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou’s lawyers argued that the evidence used by the United States to justify the extradition of their client is “unreliable and defective”. Meng, who was detained by Canada in December 2018, is currently under house arrest in Vancouver and wanted by the United States on charges of bank fraud.

Prosecutors have accused Meng of misleading a bank in the US on Huawei’s relationship with a company operating in Iran, putting it at risk of penalties for flouting US sanctions on Tehran. In documents released to media on August 14, lawyers for Huawei claimed that the US left out key facts about communication with HSBC about Huawei’s operations in Iran.

Meng’s lawyers submitted a presentation outlining Huawei’s relationship with businesses operating in Iran to back their argument. The extradition hearing is expected to run till April 2021 and submissions by the defence lawyers are scheduled to be argued in September in a British Columbia courtroom.

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Lost court battle in May

In May, Meng lost a key battle in the Canadian court to avoid extradition to the United States as the court ruled that the legal standard of double criminality had been met. British Columbia’s Superior Court judge Heather Holmes had said that Meng’s approach would seriously limit Canada’s ability to fulfil its international obligations in the extradition context for fraud and other economic crimes.

The Chinese embassy in Ottawa expressed “strong dissatisfaction” and firm opposition to the court’s decision and accused Canada of acting as an accomplice of the United States in bringing down Huawei and other Chinese companies. The embassy said in a statement that the US and Canada gravely violated the lawful rights and interests of Meng by abusing their bilateral extradition treaty.

“The whole case is entirely a grave political incident...We once again urge Canada to take China's solemn position and concerns seriously, immediately release Ms Meng WAnzhou to allow her to return safely to China, and not go further down the wrong path,” the embassy added.

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(Image: AP)