VANCOUVER (Reuters) – Canadian judge in US Huawei CFO extension case denied Meng Wanzhou her confession as evidence of Huawei staff statements that contradict U.S. claims that she deceived bankers about her business. company in Iran, management said Friday.
But the judge temporarily allowed parts of an expert report that asked Meng’s team to be admitted into evidence, subject to further claims about his relevance, the ruling showed.
Meng, 49, was arrested in December 2018 at Vancouver International Airport on a U.S. warrant for allegedly defrauding HBSC about Huawei’s deal in Iran and causing the bank to breach control US bonds.
She has since fought the case from being detained under a house in Vancouver and has pleaded not guilty.
The evidence that Meng’s team was trying to add was related to their claim that HSBC knew about Huawei’s businesses in Iran, and that Meng did not misrepresent the bank.
Two affidavits came from Huawei employees who attended the meeting where the United States claims that Meng was lying about the company ‘s business ties in Iran.
Chief Justice Heather Holmes of the British Columbia High Court said this admission in evidence could be “nothing more than an invitation to credit decisions,” turning the case into a reality. what he said.
Holmes also rejected two other Huawei work testimonials claiming that HSBC employees were aware of Huawei’s connections to businesses in Iran, saying they were outside the “right scope” of an expansion hearing.
“Ms Meng’s problem is that this body of evidence relates to issues properly within a test area, not the hearing about expansion,” Holmes wrote.
Holmes temporarily dropped parts of a report by an expert on the enforcement of U.S. sanctions law on financial institutions, saying it could address a potentially misleading side of U.S. evidence. But she said more claims would be needed to prove their relevance.
Meng is expected to appear in court Monday as her case enters the final stage of arguments, which are expected to conclude in May.
Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reporting with Moira Warburton in Vancouver; Edited by Leslie Adler and Cynthia Osterman