The treasurer of China’s huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. in Canada, Meng Wanzhou, has been charged with fraud and conspiracy by the U.S. and is likely to be extradited to the U.S. to stand trial. Her lawyer said today that she intends to ask Canadian authorities to relax bail conditions.
Meng’s lawyer, Mona Duckett, said during a regularly scheduled hearing in Vancouver that the request would be made soon, AFP reported. Meng is being held under house arrest at her home in Vancouver under a court order.
Duckett said the application is related to Meng’s “daytime supervision outside of curfew hours.
But Canadian Justice Department prosecutor John Gibb-Carsley said the government would oppose easing bail conditions.
Meng was arrested at Vancouver Airport on Dec. 1, 2018, and has continued to fight extradition to the U.S. for two years to stand trial.
The U.S. accused Meng of making misrepresentations to HSBC and concealing the relationship between Huawei and its subsidiary Skycom Tech, putting HSBC at risk of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran by providing financial services to Starcom, which has dealings with Iran, because the U.S. bans domestic companies and banks from trading and financial transactions with Iran, but Meng denied the allegations.
Meng’s arrest sparked a major diplomatic crisis between the Communist Party of China and Canada.
A judge previously agreed to conditionally release Meng on the condition that she be placed under house arrest at one of two Vancouver residences, subject to a curfew, wearing a Global Positioning System (GPS) monitoring ankle bracelet, and under private security supervision during the day.
At today’s hearing in B.C. Supreme Court, lawyers discussed the date of the upcoming extradition hearing and the charges laid by Meng’s defence lawyers. Her defence lawyers claim her rights have been continually compromised and that U.S. President Donald Trump‘s earlier comments that he might intervene in the case in exchange for Chinese concessions on trade were improper interference.
Meng’s lawyers also say the United States does not have jurisdiction over the charges against her and that extraditing her to the United States would be a violation of international law.
Meng’s lawyers also accused Canadian authorities of violating her rights during her interrogation.
The next extradition hearing is scheduled for March 1, 2021, and is expected to conclude in mid-May.
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