32 months after her arrest, Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou's extradition hearing finally underway
Nearly 1,000 days after her arrest, the extradition hearing for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou got underway Wednesday morning in a Vancouver courtroom.
Over the next week, B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes will hear arguments from Meng’s defence team and the Attorney General of Canada on whether there is enough evidence to extradite Meng to the U.S. to face fraud charges, a decision known as “committal.”
Essentially, Holmes must decide whether or not there is enough evidence to commit Meng for trial in Canada, had her alleged crimes occurred here.
According to documents previously filed in B.C. Supreme Court, Meng’s lawyers plan argue that the U.S. has failed to meet that threshold.
They say the evidence presented shows no deception by Meng, no loss by HSBC bank, and “not even a plausible theory of risk.”
Meng is accused of misrepresenting Huawei’s relationship with Skycom, a subsidiary doing business in Iran, to HSBC bank.
U.S. prosecutors say her actions put the bank at risk of violating U.S. sanctions in that country.
Meng has repeatedly denied the charges.
Lawyers for Canada’s Attorney General plan to argue that there is some evidence that shows Meng “deliberately made dishonest representations” to the bank.
On Wednesday, Robert Frater, Q.C., told Holmes: “The evidence of dishonesty in this case is abundantly clear.”
In its written submissions, Crown added that an extradition hearing is not a trial and judges are not meant to weigh the strength of a case or whether or not it might ultimately succeed.
Richard Kurland, an immigration lawyer who has been watching the case closely, noted that based on the judge’s questioning of Frater regarding what she said appeared to be inconsistent or vague evidence, he believed the decision could go either way.
“(The judge) is now entering an evidentiary questioning process that’s now dismantling, deconstructing the Crown’s case for extradition.”
The hearing began less than 24 hours after Canadian businessman Michael Spavor was convicted on spying charges in China, and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Spavor has been jailed in China, along with another Canadian, former diplomat Michael Kovrig, since 2018.
Their arrests and trials are widely seen as retaliatory for Meng’s arrest in Canada.
A Huawei spokesperson told CTV News the company had no comment on the verdict and, unusually, declined to make anyone available for an interview outside court.
Earlier this week, a death sentence for a third Canadian held in China on drug trafficking charges, Robert Schellenberg, was also upheld.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.