Meng Wanzhou due back in court Tuesday, as China demands Washington drop extradition request
Posted January 29, 2019 1:00 am.
Last Updated January 29, 2019 10:31 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER — The case of a senior executive of Chinese tech juggernaut Huawei Technologies is scheduled to return to court in Vancouver Tuesday.
The U.S. Department of Justice laid out its case Monday against Meng Wanzhou and Huawei, unsealing 13 criminal counts of conspiracy, fraud and obstruction.
The indictment, based on 23 grand jury allegations, accuses Huawei and Meng of misrepresenting their ownership of a Hong Kong-based subsidiary between 2007 and 2017 in an effort to circumvent U.S. sanctions against Iran.
The company’s U.S. branch is also accused of stealing trade secrets and equipment from cellphone provider T-Mobile USA.
Security staff periodically patrolling the only sign of life this morning ahead of Meng’s court appearance in Vancouver. Plenty of media camped out. @NEWS1130 will be at her appearance later this morning at BC Supreme Court. That happens at 10am. Not 9am, as previously reported. pic.twitter.com/2qXmRatdL3
— Mike Lloyd ☕️ (@llikemoyd) January 29, 2019
Meng, who is the company’s chief financial officer and daughter of its founder, is charged with bank fraud, wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit both.
She is free on bail in Vancouver after her arrest Dec. 1 at the behest of U.S. authorities, who Canadian officials say have already filed a formal request for Meng’s extradition.
Flanked by private security she was escorted from the back of the house to a waiting SUV. pic.twitter.com/y25b81pF56
— Mike Lloyd ☕️ (@llikemoyd) January 29, 2019
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Huawei called on Washington to stop what it called “the unreasonable crackdown” on the company, and has now China called on Washington to withdraw its request for Meng’s extradition from Canada.
China has called on Washington to “stop the unreasonable crackdown” on Huawei. Beijing will “firmly defend” its companies, a foreign ministry statement said.
It gave no indication whether Beijing might retaliate for the charges against Huawei, China’s first global tech brand and the biggest maker of switching gear for phone and internet companies.
The foreign ministry complained Washington has “mobilized state power” to hurt Chinese companies “in an attempt to strangle fair and just operations.”
“We strongly urge the United States to stop the unreasonable crackdown on Chinese companies including Huawei,” said the statement read on state TV. It said Beijing will defend the “lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies” but gave no details.
Huawei is calling on Washington to stop “the unreasonable crackdown” on the company and its CFO. US accusations include efforts to circumvent its sanctions against Iran and stealing trade secrets.
— Mike Lloyd ☕️ (@llikemoyd) January 29, 2019
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Meng’s arrest has touched off a political furor marked by days of angry anti-Canada rhetoric from China’s foreign ministry, culminating Sunday in the firing of John McCallum as Canada’s ambassador to China.
McCallum, a former longtime Liberal MP and cabinet minister, had publicly expressed confidence in Meng’s case against any U.S. extradition order.