Canadian court rules against Huawei exec fighting extradition

VANCOUVER — Chinese Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was dealt a legal setback Wednesday when a Canadian judge ruled that proceedings to extradite her to the United States will go ahead.

The decision on so-called double criminality, a key test for extradition, found that bank fraud accusations against Meng would stand up in Canada.

The interim ruling denying Meng's attempt to gain her freedom means she will continue to live in Vancouver under strict bail conditions while her case plays out.

It also effectively dashed hopes for a quick mending of Canada-China relations, which soured following her arrest on a U.S. warrant in 2018 during a stopover in Vancouver.

"The double criminality requirement for extradition is capable of being met in this case," British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Heather Holmes said in her 23-page ruling.

"Ms Meng's application is therefore dismissed," she added.

Prosecutors accused Meng of committing fraud by lying to a U.S. bank, which is a crime in both Canada and the United States.

Beijing signaled that her repatriation was a precondition for improved bilateral ties and its release of two Canadians detained on espionage suspicions.

The arrests of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor nine days after Meng was taken into custody have been widely decried as retribution.

While Meng has been out on bail, the two Canadians remain in China's opaque penal system.

China has also blocked billions of dollars' worth of Canadian agricultural exports.

The court heard during four days of hearings in January that Meng lied to the HSBC bank about Huawei's relationship with its Iran-based affiliate Skycom, putting the bank at risk of violating U.S. sanctions.

Lawyers for Canada's attorney general on behalf of the U.S. Justice Department pointed to a 2013 presentation in Hong Kong in which she told HSBC executives that Huawei no longer owned Skycom and that she had resigned from its board.

The Crown called this a deception, asserting that Huawei controlled the operations of Skycom in Iran and held its purse strings.

Defense lawyer Eric Gottardi accused the U.S. of abusing its treaty with Canada by asking it to arrest Meng as part of a campaign against China's largest international company.

The case is expected to continue to a second phase in June, followed by more hearings in September.

© 2020 AFP