Meng’s defense team has requested a postponement of the final round of hearings to allow more time to read HSBC documents. The move could upend the charges at the heart of extradition proceedings. Lawyers for Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou reportedly want to postpone the final round of hearings in the extradition proceedings against her in order to review documents they believe prove the U.S. misled Canada about the strength of fraud allegations against her client. Canadian media say this step would likely reverse the case.
Meng’s defense team wants to postpone the final round of hearings until Aug. 3, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) reported April 19. According to the original schedule, the final arguments in the extradition case will end in May.
Meng’s defense lawyers reportedly said in a filing to Canada’s British Columbia Supreme Court that they needed time to sift through a trove of sealed HSBC documents released by a Hong Kong court last week. They also cited documents filed in New York by Meng’s U.S. legal team that suggest the latest facts revealed in the U.S. criminal case will “subvert the allegations at the heart of the extradition proceedings” that Meng defrauded HSBC.
Meng’s lawyers said they have written to Attorney General David Lametti, saying he has a duty to independently investigate allegations of foreign government misconduct made by the U.S. attorney general.
“This adjournment is necessary to ensure fundamental fairness,” Richard Peck, who heads Meng’s legal team, told the judge in charge of the case on 19 June.
Meng, 49, is charged with conspiracy and fraud for allegedly misrepresenting Huawei’s control of Skycom to an executive at Hong Kong’s HSBC Bank. Skycom, a subsidiary, is accused of violating U.S. economic sanctions against Iran.
The report notes that the prosecution alleges that HSBC relied on a PowerPoint presentation from Meng to conclude that it was safe to continue to process financial transactions for Huawei. As a result, they claim, HSBC is at risk of prosecution for violating the same set of sanctions, while at the same time it is already subject to a strict deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. for prior sanctions violations.
In a response filed with the court, counsel for Canada’s attorney general reportedly expressed the urgent need to adhere to the original schedule and objected to the delay in the proceedings. The response stated, “The litigation has generated significant public interest and this court has devoted significant resources to ensure that the case moves forward as quickly as possible.”
Canada’s Justice Department also accused Meng’s lawyers of trying to obtain a “trial-like standard of disclosure” for extradition proceedings, which is designed to determine whether, on its face, the U.S. case record warrants a trial if the case is tried in Canada, according to the report. “By investigating and litigating in Canada, these proceedings would translate into a trial on these issues, contrary to the Supreme Court of Canada’s consistent assertion of the authority of extradition courts not to conduct trials,” the Justice Department filing states.
In asking for a continuance, Meng’s lawyers also cited concerns about the rapid spread of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) variant, which they say poses a particular threat to team members flying in from Ontario, Alberta and Quebec.
Proceedings can reportedly proceed as scheduled by phone and video if the judge deems the new crown pneumonia (COVID-19) outbreak to be sufficiently threatening.
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