Canada allows extradition case against Huawei executive to proceed
China, whose relations with Canada have deteriorated badly over the case, denounces the latest move to extradite Meng Wanzhou.
Saturday 2 March 2019 05:08, UK
Canada has said it will allow the US extradition case against Huawei's chief financial officer to go ahead.
Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei's founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested last December at the request of the US, which has accused her of fraud linked to violating sanctions on Iran.
She is currently on bail in Vancouver and will appear in court on Wednesday when a date for her extradition hearing will be set.
Canadian Department of Justice officials issued a statement on Friday saying: "There is sufficient evidence to be put before an extradition judge for decision." Ultimately, Canada's justice minister must decide if she is extradited.
US Justice Department spokeswoman Nicole Navas Oxman thanked the Canadian government for its assistance, adding: "We greatly appreciate Canada's steadfast commitment to the rule of law."
But China's embassy said it was "utterly dissatisfied".
"This is not a merely judicial case, but a political persecution against a Chinese high-tech enterprise," it said in a statement.
Meng's lawyer David Martin said: "We are disappointed that the Minister of Justice has decided to issue an Authority to Proceed in the face of the political nature of the US charges and where the President of the United States has repeatedly stated that he would interfere in Ms Meng's case if he thought it would assist the US negotiations with China over a trade deal."
Mr Martin also said the charges against Meng are not crimes in Canada and that his client maintains her innocence.
Meng, 46, was charged with conspiracy to defraud multiple financial institutions between 2009 and 2014.
It is alleged she used Hong Kong company Skycom to access the Iranian market in deals that violated US sanctions.
She allegedly assured US banks that Huawei and Skycom were different companies but prosecutors say they were one and the same.
Chinese media has blamed her arrest on US efforts to stop Huawei's global expansion.
The firm was founded to sell phone switches but it is now the world's biggest supplier of network gear for phone and internet companies. It is also one of the leading sellers of smartphones.