Meng Wanzhou’s lawyers say HSBC ‘fully knew’ that Huawei controlled affiliates that did business in Iran
- US claims that Meng misled the bank are unreliable, an extradition hearing in Vancouver is told
- But a Canadian government lawyer said Meng’s team was trying to distract the judge, and they should ‘save it for the trial’
HSBC bankers “fully knew” that Huawei Technologies controlled the accounts of affiliates through which it did business in Iran, undermining US claims that Meng Wanzhou defrauded the bank by allegedly lying about the relationships, a Vancouver court heard on Monday.
But a Canadian government lawyer at the extradition hearing said it was inappropriate for the judge to weigh evidence that would be eventually be presented in New York if Meng were sent there to face the accusations, which she denies.
“Save it for the trial,” said Robert Frater, representing US interests in the extradition case. He said Meng’s lawyers were trying to “distract” Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes from her purpose of weighing extradition.
Meng’s lawyers are pressing their claim this week that the Huawei executive is the victim of an abuse of process, and that former US president Donald Trump tainted the American fraud case against her so badly that the US bid to have her extradited from Canada should be thrown out by the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
They are also seeking to further a separate argument about the alleged abuse, that US authorities misled the court with their records of the case. They are applying to have a series of affidavits admitted to the court to bolster that claim.
