huawei has taken HSBC to court, seeking documents in an attempt to clear Meng Wanzhou of misleading HSBC about evading a ban on U.S. sanctions against Iran.
Huawei Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou is under house arrest in Canada for alleged international banking fraud and faces extradition to the U.S. On February 12, Huawei took HSBC to the U.K. High Court, asking for documents to try to exonerate Meng from misleading HSBC on the issue of evading the U.S. sanctions ban on Iran. In response, HSBC said there was no basis for the application and that “HSBC is not a party to this U.S. criminal case or Canadian extradition proceedings.”
In December 2018, Meng was arrested by Canadian police at the request of the U.S. while in Vancouver for a connecting flight. The U.S. accused Huawei of international bank fraud by using a Hong Kong shell company called Starcom (Skycom) to sell prohibited telecommunications equipment to Iran, in which Meng misled HSBC by providing false information.
In August 2013, Meng gave a PowerPoint presentation to HSBC executives in Hong Kong. Now, Huawei is asking for documents from HSBC from that year in an attempt to find potentially favorable information to exonerate Meng.
The lawsuit further complicates Meng’s extradition case and adds to the pressure on London-based HSBC, which derives most of its revenue from China, the Voice of America reports.
However, HSBC said in a statement to the media that “there is no basis for (Huawei’s) disclosure application in the U.K.” and that “HSBC is not a party to this U.S. criminal case or the Canadian extradition proceedings.” HSBC lawyers told the judge in the case, Michael Fordham, that the request should be denied because the court has no jurisdiction over it. Fordham, for his part, disclosed that he hoped to have a written judgment in the case within seven days.
Immediately after Meng’s arrest, Chinese authorities arrested former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian businessman Michael Spavor in retaliation, using “hostage diplomacy” to force Canada to release Meng. But Beijing‘s intentions did not pan out, and on May 27, 2020, the Supreme Court of British Columbia ruled that Meng’s alleged bank fraud met the U.S.-Canada “dual criminality” standard and that extradition proceedings would continue.
Last September, Meng’s legal team also accused the U.S. government of ignoring parts of the PPT document, arguing that Meng had not misled HSBC and asking Canada to stop the extradition process. However, the Supreme Court of British Columbia overruled this.
Meng, who is currently on bail, is being held under house arrest in her Vancouver mansion. Extradition hearings in the case were scheduled to end in April 2021, but could last several years if there is an appeal.
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