Canada’s Justice Minister Should Step in to Halt Huawei CFO’s Extradition Proceedings

Canada’s Attorney General and Justice Minister David Lametti should interject himself into the extradition process against Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou to end the 1,000-day ordeal, although politics and tensions with China will likely influence any decision, legal analysts told Sputnik.

On Thursday, China’s Foreign Ministry renewed calls for Meng’s release and again rejected accusations that two Canadian nationals were prosecuted on arbitrary grounds in retaliation, just as new evidence reportedly emerges that support Beijing’s charges. During a press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin accused Canada of acting as an “accomplice” for the United States in Meng’s “political prosecution.”

The final arguments in the 19-month extradition process against the Huawei executive concluded last month, with British Columbia Supreme Court Associate Justice Heather Holmes expected to give her recommendation on the US extradition request to Lametti sometime after the next case management conference on October 21.

GROUNDS FOR INTERVENTION

The US Justice Department has alleged that Meng committed fraud by misleading HSBC into approving more than $100 million in transactions that contravened US sanctions on Iran from 2010 to 2014. The Chinese tech firm allegedly used a company called Skycom to conduct the questionable transactions.

Crown prosecutors and the defense have zeroed in on a PowerPoint presentation, the only item admitted of HSBC internal documents unsealed by a Hong Kong court. The presentation was delivered to HSBC executives by Meng, in which she assured the bank that Huawei and all its partners – including Skycom – are in compliance with US sanctions.

The Crown contends Meng misled HSBC’s executives while the defense says the PowerPoint revealed that Meng was honest with the bank’s top brass.

“[Lametti] should have said ‘no’ right from the get-go… and he has refused to intervene, even though Section 23 (3) of the Extradition Act makes it very clear that he has the sole discretion to stop things in their tracks anytime he wants,” lawyer Gary Botting said.

International criminal lawyer John Philpot said the HSBC internal documents are grounds for interjection by the Canadian government.

“Holmes did not admit [the documents] into evidence and, maybe, legally she’s right… because you can’t do the trial in advance in extradition. That’s standard procedure,” Philpot, who has been involved in activist efforts advocating for Meng’s release, told Sputnik. “But the Canadian government knows. The Canadian government knows very well and [Section 23 (3) of the Extradition Act] allows the Canadian government to stop extradition immediately.”

Botting, one of Canada’s leading experts on extradition law, says HSBC was well aware of the nature of Huawei and Skycom’s relationship and the lack of “quantifiable” loss or risk of loss to HSBC is damaging to the US case.

Philpot also noted the lack of measurable loss, saying that it renders the US case against Meng “speculative.”

Neither lawyer believes anything Meng may have said to HSBC executives placed the bank at risk of reputational loss.

Aside from direct efforts to counter the United States’ extradition request, the defense has also claimed that the executive was the victim of an abuse of process, applying for a stay of the proceedings.

This defense is based on four components, or branches, which say that the sum of former US President Donald Trump’s comments, procedural errors during the executive’s arrest, and a misleading case built by US prosecutors, one which allegedly violates international law, amounts to an abuse of process.

Both lawyers, however, say that abuse of process is unlikely to gain traction with Holmes, with Philpot characterizing this line of defense as a “last resort” in Canadian law.

The final decision on the Huawei executive’s future will be decided by politics, Botting noted, acknowledging that he believes that Holmes will ultimately commit Meng for extradition.

POLITICAL FACTORS

Analysts say Lametti’s decision could hinge on developments in China, where the fate of multiple Canadians is held in the balance.

The case in Vancouver proceeds against the backdrop of judgments in China, where, last month, courts upheld the death penalty for Canadian Robert Schellenberg for drug smuggling and a separate court sentenced businessman Michael Spavor to 11 years for espionage.

Both lawyers also emphasized the legal process is far from over.

Should the Holmes commit the executive for extradition, the defense will almost certainly appeal, Botting and Philpot said, with the appeals process potentially landing in the Supreme Court, which would extend the process by several years.

Philpot also warned that any political decision made by Lametti or another attorney general – Canada is currently in the middle of a national election – could also be contested in court.

Additionally, Botting said even if Meng manages to flee Canada her situation would not be fully resolved until the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York removes the executive from the indictment, cautioning that her current troubles could be repeated in another country.

Meng was arrested on December 1, 2018, at Vancouver International Airport during a layover stop at the request of the US government. The executive remains under house arrest in Vancouver, although is free to traverse the region in the company of state-imposed guards outside of her curfew.