Canadian federal prosecutors argued in a court filing that Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou’s conduct amounts to fraud under Canadian law. Further, the filing says the court need not consider U.S. sanctions law because of this.
According to Reuters, the filing argued that Meng’s conduct amounts to fraud against a bank. “The Applicant is alleged to have made several misrepresentations to a bank to secure financial services,” the government’s submission read in part.
The argument is part of a critical test in Canadian extradition law called ‘double criminality,’ which means that something must be illegal in Canada as well as in the country seeking extradition.
In November, Meng’s legal team argued that she could not be extradited to the U.S. since the alleged crime wasn’t illegal in Canada. When Canadian officials authorized commencing with the extradition, Canada didn’t have sanctions against Iran, Meng’s lawyers argued.
Meng’s extradition hearing will begin on January 20th. She was arrested at the Vancouver International Airport on December 1st, 2018 by request of the U.S. The States charged Meng with bank fraud and accused her of misleading HSBC about Huawei’s business in Iran. Meng and Huawei deny the allegations.
Source: Reuters
