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Huawei CFO to seek extradition stay citing Trump comments

Huawei CFO to seek extradition stay citing Trump comments

Meng Wanzhou

Huawei's chief financial officer intends to seek a stay on extradition proceedings in part based on statements by resident Donald Trump about the case, which her lawyers say disqualifies the United States from pursuing the matter in Canada.

Meng Wanzhou, 47, the daughter of Huawei Technologies billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested at Vancouver's airport in December on a US warrant and is fighting extradition on fraud charges that she misled global banks about Huawei's relationship with a company operating in Iran.

Meng's defence lawyers said in a document that she has been unlawfully detained in Canada and that there is no evidence she misrepresented to a bank Huawei's relationship with a company operating in Iran called Skycom, thereby putting the bank at risk of violating US sanctions law, or that the bank relied on her statements.

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The bank has been identified as HSBC. HSBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Huawei has previously said Skycom was a local business partner in Iran, while the United States maintains it was an unofficial subsidiary used to conceal Huawei's Iran business.

Meng defence lawyer Scott Fenton told the court that during her three-hour detention in December, Meng's rights "were placed in total suspension."

The lawyers also claim Meng cannot be extradited because Canada should not extradite a person to face punishment for conduct that is not criminal in Canada.

The bank and wire fraud charges do not meet those criteria because Meng is accused of encouraging HSBC to engage in transactions that violate US sanctions laws. But there would be no risk of fines or forfeiture for any bank in Canada.

Meng will next appear in court on September 23, when her defence will make more applications for more disclosure. No date has been yet set for an extradition hearing, a process that could take years.