Thursday, March 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

U.S. 'cherry-picked' evidence against Meng: lawyer

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 28 Sep, 2020 09:23 PM
  • U.S. 'cherry-picked' evidence against Meng: lawyer

Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou is back in a Vancouver court today, where her lawyers are arguing the United States omitted or misstated facts to Canadian officials ahead of her arrest.

Meng is wanted on fraud charges in the United States, which she and Huawei have denied.

She is accused of misrepresenting Huawei's relationship with Skycom in a 2013 PowerPoint presentation to HSBC, allegedly putting the bank at risk of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.

Canada's attorney general has said in documents that Huawei controlled Skycom's operations in Iran from 2007 until 2014, which contradicts Meng's statements.

Defence lawyer Scott Fenton told the judge hearing the extradition case in B.C. Supreme Court today that the United States cherry-picked information from the PowerPoint presentation that Meng made to HSBC in 2013 in its collection of evidence.

He said the summary of allegations provided to Canada is "manifestly unreliable" and "seriously misleading."

Fenton said the summary omitted slides in the presentation where Meng described Huawei as having a "normal and controllable" relationship with Skycom, and another where she describes Huawei and Skycom as business partners that both did business in Iran.

"It put HSBC on full notice that both Huawei and Skycom were doing business in Iran," Fenton said.

It means Meng and Huawei informed HSBC that if it chose to process U.S. dollars relating to commerce in Iran through it U.S. subsidiaries, it would be at risk of liability under American sanction laws, he said.

"After she's informed HSBC that its commerce with Skycom is in Iran, HSBC is on full notice in terms of measuring sanctions risk."

Fenton told Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes that if she agreed there was an "air of reality" to the defence allegations that the United States failed in its duty to present fair and frank representations of what happened, she could order a stay in proceedings or an exclusion of the evidence.

"Where the court finds there are material misstatements and omissions going to the heart of the record of the case, then the court may intervene, find an abuse of process and fashion an appropriate remedy," Fenton said.

The attorney general is expected to deliver a response to the defence arguments on Tuesday.

MORE National ARTICLES

CPP breaking rules on politics: environment group

CPP breaking rules on politics: environment group
Crestone Peak Resources is 95 per cent owned by the Canada Pension Plan. One of the company's five directors also works for the pension plan.

CPP breaking rules on politics: environment group

Judge orders Pascale Ferrier to remain behind bars

Judge orders Pascale Ferrier to remain behind bars
Timothy Lynch of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Buffalo, N.Y., described Ferrier as being "loaded for bear" when she was stopped Sept. 20 at the Peace Bridge border crossing.

Judge orders Pascale Ferrier to remain behind bars

Pandemic highlights duty to document: info czar

Pandemic highlights duty to document: info czar
Maynard is an ombudsman for users of the Access to Information Act, which allows people who pay $5 to request government records ranging from briefing notes to meeting minutes.

Pandemic highlights duty to document: info czar

Singh says martial-arts training kept him calm

Singh says martial-arts training kept him calm
Video posted to social media showed Singh being followed along a sidewalk by a man and others, at least one of whom was recording the incident.

Singh says martial-arts training kept him calm

Minimal risk to wild salmon from farmed fish: DFO

Minimal risk to wild salmon from farmed fish: DFO
Meetings with the First Nations, which have raised concerns about three salmon farms, are expected to begin in October.

Minimal risk to wild salmon from farmed fish: DFO

Canada says U.S. softwood appeal is disappointing

Canada says U.S. softwood appeal is disappointing
The WTO ruled in August that the U.S. could not back up its claims, and the U.S. has now appealed that decision.

Canada says U.S. softwood appeal is disappointing

PrevNext