Meng’s team asks to admit evidence

VANCOUVER—Staff at international bank HSBC were well aware of telecom giant Huawei’s control of another company whose business in Iran lies at the heart of fraud allegations against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, the British Columbia Supreme Court heard Monday.

Frank Addario, one of Meng’s defence lawyers, testified the United States has provided the court with a “manifestly unreliable” description of the case against her and said he has evidence to prove it.

Addario is asking the judge to admit affidavits including emails and bank account information into evidence to support the defence team’s case at Meng’s committal hearing, scheduled for May.

“We have evidence showing the picture painted for you about (HSBC’s) global risk committee’s state of knowledge is unreliable and misleading,” Addario said.

Meng is accused of misrepresenting Huawei’s relationship with Skycom during a 2013 meeting with HSBC, putting the bank at risk of violating U.S. sanctions in Iran.

The U.S. alleges Meng called the meeting to reassure the bank and distance Huawei from Skycom after Reuters published articles suggesting HSBC could be at risk.

Meng was arrested at Vancouver’s airport in 2018 at the request of the United States and remains in Canada on bail while the extradition process is underway.

Huawei and Meng, who is the company’s chief financial officer and daughter of its founder, deny the allegations.

A lawyer for Canada’s attorney general, who represents the United States in the case, accused Meng’s team Monday of confusing the limits of an extradition case.