Huawei CFO’s arrest to be probed in Vancouver hearing
Lawyers for Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou are set to probe her arrest in Vancouver airport during a court hearing today.
Meng was arrested in December on suspicion of misleading banks and violating sanctions against Iran, and is now facing extradition to the US.
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Huawei’s finance chief, who is the daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei, will be back in the spotlight this evening during a hearing at the British Columbia Supreme Court.
Meng’s legal team are expected to ask for more details about her detention in Vancouver, including contact between US and Canadian authorities.
The lawyers have argued that Meng was unlawfully detained, searched and questioned for more than three hours after she landed on a flight from Hong Kong.
Officials have been accused of holding her under the ruse of an immigration check in order to delay her arrest and collect evidence for US authorities.
Extradition proceedings against Meng should be halted if officials are found to have abused the process, the lawyers have said.
Meng’s defence team and Huawei have both accused the US of using the executive as a political pawn amid a protracted trade dispute between China and President Donald Trump’s administration.
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A spokesperson for the Candian Department of Justice told Reuters that Meng had already been provided with “extensive disclosure, beyond what is required”.
Meng’s extradition hearing is not scheduled to start until January.
Main image credit: Getty