Meng Wanzhou extradition case embarrasses Canadian court, lawyer says, rejecting Huawei fraud claim
- The fraud charges are a ‘pose’ intended to disguise a case really about US sanctions on Iran that are rejected by ‘the rest of the civilised world’, lawyer says
- Since Meng Wanzhou committed no extraditable offence, she should be released, her team argues, before judge reserves judgment and adjourns proceedings
Lawyers for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou have blasted the US fraud charges against her as an embarrassment to the Canadian court that is judging her extradition hearing, and an improper “pose” intended to apply US sanctions on Iran that had been rejected by “the rest of the civilised world”.
Concluding the first phase of Meng’s high-stakes extradition case after four days of hearings in Vancouver, lawyer Scott Fenton told Madam Justice Heather Holmes in the British Columbia Supreme Court that “there must be actual risk posed to the economic interests of the victim” in a fraud case – an argument referring to the alleged lies Meng told HSBC about Huawei’s business in Iran.
The risk in a fraud case could be small, but not such that there was “no possibility of loss, [which] means no risk at all”.
“The court is being embarrassed”, said Fenton, adding that the case was premised on US sanctions that did not apply in Canada.
Justice Holmes said she was reserving judgment, something she said would “come as no surprise”. She took a moment to praise the “superb” submissions by both sides before adjourning proceedings.
