At a hearing before the Supreme Court of British Columbia on 29 June 2021, lawyers for Meng Wanzhou applied for permission to admit into evidence internal HSBC records and emails that they say contradict the allegations forming the basis of the US request for the Huawei CFO’s extradition.
Ms Meng is charged in the US with wire fraud and bank fraud in connection with the alleged violation of US sanctions on Iran. Central to the US case is a 2013 meeting between Ms Meng and HSBC officials at which she is alleged to have misled the bank as to the true nature of Huawei’s relationship with its subsidiary, Skycom, and its activities in Iran. Ms Meng denies misleading the bank and, on 21 April 2021, the court granted a defence application for an adjournment to allow her legal team time to review new materials handed over to them by HSBC following the settlement of a claim between Huawei and HSBC in Hong Kong’s High Court.
Among those materials are records and emails that, according to the defence, reveal that HSBC had knowledge of Huawei’s continued control of Skycom and the fact that Skycom held accounts at HSBC that were controlled by Huawei. The defence asked the court for permission to adduce these records and emails at the final round of Ms Meng’s extradition hearings, which are due to begin in August 2021 and at which it is expected the defence will argue for Ms Meng’s discharge on the grounds that the US allegations are false and misleading.
Lawyers for the Attorney General of Canada, representing the US authorities, have yet to respond to the defence application.
Categories: Canada, China, United States
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