Huawei defense to ask Canada court for delay in CFO's extradition hearings

[April 17, 2021]    By Moira Warburton
 
 VANCOUVER (Reuters) - The defense team for Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, will ask a Canadian court to delay upcoming hearings in her U.S. extradition case, the court said on Friday.

Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou leaves her home to attend a court hearing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada December 7, 2020. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier/File Photo

Meng's U.S. extradition hearings have lasted more than two years and she is scheduled to be back in the British Columbia Supreme Court on April 26.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters the application was a result of an agreement announced last week in a Hong Kong court between Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and HSBC regarding publication of internal documents relating to the fraud allegations against Meng.

The source was not authorised to speak publicly about the matter.

Meng, 49, is facing charges in the United States for allegedly misleading HSBC about Huawei's business dealings in Iran, potentially causing the bank to break U.S. sanctions.

She has been held under house arrest in Canada since her arrest at Vancouver International Airport in December 2018.

Meng's lawyers have been seeking the release of more documents from HSBC, arguing the charges against her were based on a presentation she gave to a senior HSBC executive in 2013. They claim that "an incomplete version" of her statements made in the presentation was used by U.S. authorities to request her extradition, and have pushed HSBC to release documents detailing the contents of the meeting.

A British judge in February blocked the release of internal HSBC documents sought by Huawei.

Meng's extradition hearings are scheduled to wrap up in May, although the potential for appeals on either side means the case could drag on for years.

Canada's justice department did not offer an immediate comment.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton in Vancouver; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

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