Huawei CFO lawyer argues examination by border agents was not legitimate
VANCOUVER - A lawyer representing Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou told a Canadian court on Thursday that border agents who questioned her at the airport were “untruthful” when they said they handed over Meng’s phone passcodes to police by accident.
In the last phase of arguments leading to a final hearing of
Meng’s extradition case, defence lawyer Tony Paisana told a British Columbia
Supreme Court judge the agents abused their statutory powers, and would not
have acted as they did if they were conducting a “bona fide” border exam.
He asked why the agents took Meng’s electronic devices but
did not search them, and why they asked for passcodes when they knew they would
not use them.
The evidence suggested that the information was collected
for the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Paisana said.
“(Otherwise) why would you need the passcodes? For what
purpose?” he asked.
Meng, who was arrested at Vancouver International Airport in
2018 on a U.S. warrant for bank fraud, is accused of misleading HSBC about
Huawei Technologies Co Ltd’s business dealings in Iran, causing the bank to
break with U.S. sanctions. Meng, 49, and Huawei maintain she is innocent. For
more than two years she has been fighting extradition to the United States
while under house arrest in Vancouver. Diplomatic relations between China and
Canada have soured over the issue. China detained two Canadians soon after
Meng’s arrest and they will face trial starting this week, ramping up the
tension between the two countries.
Meng’s legal team is arguing that abuses of process took
place during her arrest and that her rights were violated.
Canadian prosecutors have said Meng’s arrest followed
established procedures.
On Wednesday, Paisana said Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) officers who appeared as witnesses last year provided “less than
truthful” testimony when confronted with alleged abuses of process. He said
RCMP Constable Winston Yep gave testimony “bordering on the absurd” when
defending his decision to allow border agents to question Meng before her
arrest by police.
RCMP declined to comment.
Meng’s extradition is expected to wrap up in May, though any
decision could be appealed which would delay the final outcome.
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