Fraud allegations a facade, Meng lawyer argues as extradition hearing begins
Posted January 20, 2020 4:00 am.
Last Updated January 20, 2020 2:46 pm.
A defence lawyer says fraud allegations against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou are a “facade” and the charges are really about the United States attempting to enforce its sanctions against Iran.
A court hearing began Monday in Vancouver over the American request to extradite Meng on allegations she lied to HSBC about a Huawei subsidiary’s business in Iran, putting the bank at risk of violating U.S. sanctions.
At issue at this week’s hearing is the legal test of double criminality, meaning if the conduct she’s accused of would also be a crime in Canada then Meng should be extradited to face the accusations.
WATCH: Meng Wanzhou arrives at Vancouver court for extradition hearing
Her lawyer, Richard Peck, told a British Columbia Supreme Court judge that it’s a fiction that America has any interest in policing a foreign citizen or foreign bank, but it does have an interest in enforcing its sanctions.
Peck says the sanctions are the basis of the alleged fraud, since the bank wouldn’t have faced any economic risk if the penalties didn’t exist, and he notes Canada has refused to impose similar sanctions against Iran.
Lawyers for the attorney general have argued in court documents that Meng’s alleged misrepresentations put HSBC at risk of economic loss and are sufficient to make a case of fraud in Canada.
