VANCOUVER — The extradition case in opposition to Huawei govt Meng Wanzhou has an “overwhelming” connection to america, a lawyer for Canada’s lawyer common has argued.
Robert Frater responded in British Columbia Supreme Courtroom on Thursday to arguments made by Meng’s attorneys that the case violates worldwide legislation and needs to be tossed.
“The failings of their argument run so vast and so deep, I scarcely know the place to start,” Frater instructed the choose.
The US is in search of Meng on fraud fees over alleged lies she instructed HSBC about Huawei’s relationship with one other firm, Skycom, that was doing enterprise in Iran. She and Huawei deny the allegations.
Her attorneys have stated Meng is a Chinese language nationwide, HSBC is an English-Chinese language financial institution and the assembly between them occurred in Hong Kong, so america has no jurisdiction to cost her.
Nevertheless, Frater stated your complete level of the assembly was to assuage HSBC’s considerations about violating American sanctions in opposition to Iran via its enterprise with Huawei.
The assembly in 2013 adopted the publication of Reuters articles that alleged Skycom was promoting American-made pc tools to Iran’s largest mobile-phone operator and that Skycom was managed by Huawei.
“Why did that assembly happen? On the request of Ms. Meng — a senior govt to senior govt assembly of consumer and nervous banker,” Frater stated.
He stated Meng confirmed a PowerPoint to the HSBC executives that stated Huawei was acutely aware of the sanctions and was complying. The presentation was designed to falsely distance Huawei from Skycom, he stated.
“There is no such thing as a motive to have this assembly if it isn’t about reassuring HSBC that it may possibly proceed to supply banking providers to Huawei — specifically, we might say, U.S. banking providers,” Frater stated.
“The overriding message is: ‘In case you proceed to supply U.S. banking providers, you’ll not incur any authorized threat.’ It’s a robust prima facie case, in our submission, that Ms. Meng is aware of what she is doing.”
Meng’s attorneys have argued that the one connection america can declare to the case is that $2 million in funds between a HSBC consumer and Skycom have been cleared in American {dollars} via the nation’s monetary system.
Her attorneys instructed the court docket the apply of “greenback clearing” shouldn’t be ample for america to assert the “real or substantial” connection to the alleged crime essential below worldwide legislation.
Frater responded that the case is about way more than greenback clearing, and should be seen via the lens of the offence Meng has been charged with: fraud.
Fraud is not only in regards to the lie, it’s in regards to the threat of deprivation or financial loss, he stated.
“The lies in Hong Kong aren’t about dangers in Hong Kong. They’re about dangers primarily in america,” he stated.
HSBC was on a deferred prosecution settlement in america for beforehand breaching sanctions in opposition to Iran. Violating that settlement put the financial institution prone to civil and prison penalties, Frater stated.
Each HSBC’s American subsidiary and the UK arm are listed on the deferred prosecution settlement, he added.
Meng’s attorneys earlier drew a distinction between HSBC Financial institution USA and HSBC, which Frater described as “hairsplitting.”
The financial institution is a multinational monetary establishment, he stated, with a worldwide threat committee that determined to proceed its relationship with Huawei after the assembly with Meng.
“No real connection to america? These misrepresentations have been all about issues that have been of concern in america,” Frater stated.
Meng was arrested whereas passing via Vancouver’s airport in December 2018 and is out on bail, residing in one among her two multimillion greenback properties within the metropolis.
Her attorneys argue that the extradition proceedings are an abuse of course of and needs to be stayed.
The ultimate section of the B.C. Supreme Courtroom course of, together with an extradition listening to, is scheduled to start later this month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed April 1, 2021.
Laura Dhillon Kane, The Canadian Press
