Huawei CFO back in court Tuesday for third day of bail hearing
Posted December 10, 2018 9:49 am.
Last Updated December 11, 2018 6:40 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Huawei’s CFO, wanted on fraud charges in the U.S. will be back in court Tuesday morning for day three of her bail hearing. This is after a judge said he would not be making a decision Monday afternoon.
Meng will be spending at least one more night in police custody.
Also, judge just confirmed he will NOT be making a decision today, prompting some disappointed gasps from the public. Judge says he’s looking for more clarification on what the residency requirements of a surety in BC are #MengWanzhou #huawei @NEWS1130
— Monika Gul (@MonikaGul) December 10, 2018
Meng was arrested last Saturday while in transit at Vancouver’s airport.
At the hearing, the defence is offering $15 million for her bail, $1 million of which would be in cash. While the Crown was satisfied with the amount, it argues $7.5 million should be cash.
Meng’s lawyer David Martin said Meng could possibly put up enough cash to meet Crown’s suggestion.
Court back in session. Crown making propositions for bail conditions. One, amount deposited in cash should be more. Currently, she’d be giving $15 mill. to get bail but only $1 mill. of that would be cash deposited. Crown says $7.5 mill. should be deposited #MengWanzhou @NEWS1130
— Monika Gul (@MonikaGul) December 10, 2018
On Friday, the first day of Meng’s bail hearing, the Crown revealed she is wanted due to an investigation into fraud and violations against U.S. sanctions against Iran.
The U.S. is accusing the company of using subsidiary Skycom to do business with Iran, which would bypass sanctions. Meng is accused to have previously insisted the two were separate companies. If extradited and convicted, she could face sentences as long as 30 years.
On Monday, Scott Filer, CEO of Lions Gate Risk Management, told court his company was contacted by Meng’s lawyers last week to come up with a “supervision plan” if Meng were to be released on bail.
Filer said the plan would include a dedicated driver, and security team that would escort Meng and enforce bail conditions.
The plan would also include a mapped perimeter of where Meng would be allowed to go, and workers would rotate on three eight-hour shifts per day.
Plan also includes a mapped perimeter of where #MengWanzhou would be allowed to go. That includes Richmond, Vancouver, up to parts of North Shore. Filer says they would have eyes on her at all times. #huawei @NEWS1130
— Monika Gul (@MonikaGul) December 10, 2018
When questioned by the Crown, Filer admitted Lions Gate has never monitored someone on bail before, and this would be the company’s first time doing so.
Filer admits Lions Gate has never monitored someone on bail before. This would be first time. Says they’ve done other similar jobs before, including protection and security, which he says is similar. Adds their services will be paid for by #MengWanzhou. #huawei @NEWS1130
— Monika Gul (@MonikaGul) December 10, 2018
Steve Tan with Recovery Science told court the company has done electronic monitoring in more than 500 of bail cases and is currently monitoring 115 people on bail with GPS ankle bracelets.
Tan says it is possible for someone to force off a bracelet, but an alarm would trigger. However, he told court of one case where someone on bail was able to remove the ankle bracelet and run away, avoiding re-arrest.
Tan says there’s one case he’s aware of where a person on bail wearing their ankle bracelet was able to take it off, run away, and successfully avoid getting re-arrested. #MengWanzhou #huawei @NEWS1130
— Monika Gul (@MonikaGul) December 10, 2018
On Friday, the Crown argued Meng should be denied bail, claiming she is a flight risk.
Crown says charge U.S. pursuing against #MengWanzhou is conspiracy to defraud multiple international financial institutions. If convicted, that could lead to a sentence as long as 30 years. #Huawei
— Martin MacMahon (@martinmacmahon) December 7, 2018
On Friday, the judge lifted a publication ban that was in place at Meng’s request, thanks to a lawyer representing several media outlets.
Monday’s court appearance, the second day of the bail hearing, came on the heels of an op-ed in a Communist Party newspaper, calling Canada’s treatment of Meng “inhumane.” It was published in Monday’s Global Times, following formal government protests to the ambassadors of both Canada and the U.S. over the weekend.
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Huawei is the most prestigious tech company in China and was founded by Meng’s father, Ren Zhengfei. The company has said it is not aware of any wrongdoing by Meng.
– With files from the Canadian Press