Canadian prosecutors say case against Huawei CFO is about fraud, not sanctions

TORONTO, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Huawei executive Meng
Wanzhou's conduct amounts to fraud under Canadian law and the
court need not consider U.S. sanctions law, Canadian federal
prosecutors argued in a court filing released on Friday.

Meng's legal team argued in November that the Huawei chief
financial officer could not be extradited to the United States
because her alleged conduct was not illegal in Canada. Canada
did not have sanctions against Iran at the time Canadian
officials authorized commencing with the extradition, her
lawyers said.

Meng, 47, was arrested at the Vancouver International
Airport on Dec. 1, 2018, at the request of the United States,
where she is charged with bank fraud and accused of misleading
the bank HSBC about Huawei Technologies' business in
Iran. Meng has said she is innocent and is fighting extradition.

Her extradition hearing is set to begin on Jan. 20.

A crucial test in Canadian extradition law is "double
criminality" - conduct must be illegal in Canada as well as in
the country seeking extradition.

"The essence of the Applicant's conduct is fraud on a bank:
the Applicant is alleged to have made several misrepresentations
to a bank to secure financial services," reads the government's
submissions in part.

Her arrest infuriated the Chinese government, which
subsequently detained two Canadian citizens in what
international observers have called retaliation for Meng's
detention.

Meng was granted multi-million-dollar bail and has been
living for the last year in one of her Vancouver homes with a
24-hour security team. The two Canadians, Michael Spavor and
Michael Kovrig, remain in Chinese detention.

A Huawei spokesman was not available for an immediate
comment.
(Reporting by Allison Martell and Anna Mehler Paperny in
Toronto
Editing by Leslie Adler)