Meng Wanzhou returns to B.C. court for arguments over evidence, abuse of process

Mar 15, 2021 | 1:03 AM

VANCOUVER — The conduct of Canadian police and border officers is expected to face scrutiny in British Columbia Supreme Court this week as hearings resume in the extradition case of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. 

Three weeks of arguments in Meng’s case are scheduled to begin today, including allegations that her arrest at Vancouver’s airport in 2018 was an unlawful abuse of process and that the case doesn’t meet the criteria for extradition under international law. 

Meng’s lawyers are also expected to ask the judge hearing the case to admit evidence that they say would bolster their arguments.

Meng is wanted in the United States on fraud charges that both she and Huawei deny. 

She is accused of misrepresenting Huawei’s control of another company to HSBC, allegedly putting the bank at risk of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.

Her lawyers say in court documents that the new evidence challenges the assertion that HSBC suffered a real risk of loan loss due to Meng’s alleged actions, and proves that the United States provided an “manifestly unreliable” record of the case to Canadian officials. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 15, 2021. 

The Canadian Press