Huawei dials up Canada lawsuit

CHINESE telecoms giant Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou is suing Canadian authorities for violating her constitutional rights when she was arrested in Vancouver.

Her lawyers said the Chinese executive was “seeking damages for misfeasance in public office and false imprisonment” over her detention at Vancouver International Airport on December 1.

The 47-year-old businesswoman was changing planes in Vancouver when she was detained, at Washington’s request, on suspicion of violating US sanctions on Iran – sparking arrests of Canadians in China that were seen as retaliatory.

Ms Meng’s attorneys Howard Mickelson and Allan Doolittle allege impropriety in the conditions under which Ms Meng was interrogated for three hours by customs officers, officially as part of a routine inspection, before being served with her official arrest.

During those three hours, the customs officers searched her phones and computers as well as her luggage, in “serious breaches of her constitutional rights”, lawyers said.

The complaint was lodged on Friday, the same day that Canadian justice officially launched Ms Meng’s extradition process to the US.

The US Justice Department accuses Huawei and its chief financial officer of circumventing American sanctions against Iran, but also, via two affiliate companies, of stealing trade secrets from US telecommunications group T-Mobile.

Ms Meng (pictured) is the daughter of Huawei’s founder Ren Zhengfei.

She was released on parole in mid-December in Vancouver, where she owns two residences. She had to forfeit a bond deposit of $6.6 million, wear an electronic bracelet and hand over her passports.

She is scheduled to appear before a Vancouver judge next Wednesday “to confirm that a writ of court has been issued and to schedule a date for the extradition hearing”, the Canadian court has explained.

The extradition procedure can take months or even years because of the many appeal possibilities.

China is furious over the US charges against Ms Meng, saying they are the product of “strong political motivations” and an attempt to undermine its flagship telecoms company.

Huawei has strenuously denied any wrongdoing