VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Any errors in the arrest of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd’s Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou in Canada last December were technical in nature and do not meet the requirements to suspend her extradition proceedings to the United States, government lawyers said in court on Wednesday.
Meng, 47, is charged in the United States with bank fraud and she is accused of misleading HSBC Holdings PLC bank about Huawei’s business in Iran, which is under U.S. sanctions. Meng has said she is innocent and is fighting extradition.
Lawyers for Canada’s attorney general wrapped up their oral arguments on behalf of the United States in a British Columbia courtroom on Wednesday. Meng’s lawyers, who made their initial arguments last week, are set to return to court on Thursday to present their response.
Meng’s lawyers are demanding emails, notes and other records from the Canadian government, arguing that they would support their case that Meng’s rights were violated before her arrest at a Vancouver airport on Dec. 1 at the request of the United States.
If Canadian officials abused their authority, her lawyers say, the extradition proceedings should be halted.
Meng’s defense, in their application for additional disclosure, have tried to create a narrative of a grand conspiracy, public prosecutor John Gibb-Carsley said in court.
“Never let the truth get in the way of a good story,” he added.
Gibb-Carsley said communications on Nov. 30 between members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) show there was no plan of action involving the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) until the following day.
