The internal documents sent to Huawei Technologies Co.'s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, by HSBC Holdings reportedly contradict the basis for her extradition. Meng's lawyers said the contents go against the U.S.'s claims and their request to have her face fraud charges in New York.
The 49-year-old daughter of Huawei founder, Ren Zhengfei, has been accused of lying to HSBC about her company's business deals in Iran. This includes Huawei's relationship with Skycom - a company that did business in Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.
Prosecutors accused Meng of misleading HSBC and exposing it to criminal liability for its involvement in transactions that were a violation of U.S. sanctions.
Meng's lawyers said the HSBC documents showed that the bank was aware of Huawei and Skycom's dealings and that the latter had held accounts with the bank.
"HSBC's own records reflected Huawei's continued control over Skycom, including the fact that Skycom held accounts at HSBC that were controlled by Huawei," Meng's lawyer Mark Sandler said.
Sandler said HSBC had conducted internal risk assessments before it proceeded with doing business with Huawei and Skycom. He said the documents clearly showed Skycom's financial statements and a report on Huawei's accounts with its head office.
"We're now in a different universe. There is no plausible case for committal," Sandler said at a hearing Wednesday.
Meng's lawyers initially filed to halt the publication of the HSBC documents, citing that it was their "legal obligation" to do so under their agreement with the bank. Now, her camp is seeking to have the HSBC documents admitted as evidence in their bid to have the Canadian court throw out the U.S.'s handover request.
If the documents are admitted as evidence, Meng's lawyers will be able to use its contents in the final round of extradition hearings in August. The records could convince the Canadian court that the U.S.'s allegations are false and misleading.
Meng has been detained in Vancouver since her arrest in December 2018. She has been placed under house arrest in one of her family's homes in the city.
