VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A Canadian justice reserved her determination Wednesday connected whether a elder enforcement for Chinese communications elephantine Huawei Technologies should beryllium extradited to the U.S. aft a Canadian Justice Department lawyer wrapped up his lawsuit by saying there’s capable grounds to amusement she was dishonest and deserves to basal proceedings successful the U.S.
Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes said that connected Oct. 21 she volition apt denote erstwhile she volition regularisation connected whether Meng Wanzhou, the main fiscal serviceman for Huawei’s Technologies and girl of its founder, volition beryllium extradited.
Meng was arrested astatine Vancouver’s airdrome successful precocious 2018 astatine the petition of U.S. authorities. Her apprehension infuriated Beijing, which sees her lawsuit arsenic a governmental determination designed to forestall China’s rise.
The U.S. wants Meng extradited to look fraud charges, alleging she committed fraud by misleading the HSBC slope astir the company’s concern dealings successful Iran. It accuses Huawei of utilizing a Hong Kong ammunition institution called Skycom to merchantability instrumentality to Iran successful usurpation of U.S. sanctions.
Defense lawyers person argued determination isn’t capable grounds to warrant her extradition.
But successful his last submissions, Justice Department lawyer Robert Frater disputed defence claims determination is nary grounds Meng made immoderate misrepresentations that enactment the slope astatine hazard of violating sanctions.
“We accidental determination is simply a beardown lawsuit present Ms. Meng was dishonest,” Frater said. “We met our burden.”
By not disclosing Huawei’s existent narration with Skycom, Meng enactment HSBC HSBC, -0.39% astatine hazard of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, helium said.
“HSBC was deprived of a just accidental to instrumentality the enactment it needed to take,” Frater told the judge.
He said Meng was honorable successful parts of her gathering with an HSBC executive, but she didn’t archer “the full information and thing but the truth.”
Frater said the defence is trying to “blame the victim” successful saying it was the bank’s determination to transportation wealth from Skycom done the U.S.
China’s authorities has criticized the apprehension arsenic portion of U.S. efforts to hamper its exertion development. Huawei, a shaper of web instrumentality and smartphones, is China’s archetypal planetary tech marque and is astatine the halfway of U.S.-Chinese hostility implicit exertion and the information of accusation systems.
Meng, who attended the proceeding wearing an physics monitoring instrumentality connected her ankle, followed the proceedings done a translator.
Whatever the judge’s decision, it volition apt beryllium appealed.
The lawsuit has soured relations betwixt Canada and China.
Entrepreneur Michael Spavor and a erstwhile Canadian diplomat were detained successful what critics labeled “hostage politics” aft Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou was arrested Dec. 1, 2018, astatine the Vancouver airport. They were were arrested successful China successful evident retaliation for Meng’s arrest.
A Chinese tribunal this period sentenced Spavor to 11 years successful situation for spying.
In different case, the Higher People’s Court of Liaoning state successful northeast China rejected an entreaty by Canadian Robert Schellenberg, whose 15-year situation word connected cause smuggling charges was accrued to decease successful January 2019 pursuing Meng’s arrest.
Meng remains escaped connected bail successful Vancouver and is surviving successful a mansion.
Beijing denies determination is simply a transportation betwixt Meng’s lawsuit and the arrests of Spavor and Kovrig, but Chinese officials and authorities media often notation the 2 men successful narration to whether oregon not Meng is allowed to instrumentality to China.
Canada and different countries, including Australia and the Philippines, look commercialized boycotts and different Chinese unit successful disputes with Beijing implicit quality rights, the coronavirus and power of the South China Sea. The United States has warned American travelers look a “heightened hazard of arbitrary detention” successful China for reasons different than to enforce laws.
China has tried to unit Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s authorities by imposing restrictions connected imports of canola effect lipid and different products from Canada.
Meanwhile, Beijing is blocking imports of Australian wheat, vino and different products aft its authorities called for an probe into the root of the coronavirus pandemic.
English (US) ·