Judge says Meng Wanzhou's case is unusual

A British Columbia Supreme Court judge said the fraud charge against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou is unusual.

Robert Frater, a lawyer for the attorney-general of Canada, which is presenting the US in the case, concluded his submissions Thursday by saying the fraud charge is "neither unique nor unusual".

Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes, however, then challenged Frater by saying the case is "unique and unprecedented".

"The expression you used — it comes within the four corners of the law of fraud. It has to in order to meet the test for extradition," said Holmes. "But on the facts is it not unusual to see a fraud case with no actual harm many years later, and one in which the alleged victim—a large institution—appears to have had a number of people who had all the facts?"

"I simply suggests it's unusual to have both of those features — no actual loss and fairly extensive knowledge of the true state of affairs," the judge continued.

Frater responded to Holmes that he submitted those features of a case that are usually taken care of in sentencing as they speak to the seriousness of the events, neither the absence of harm nor some knowledge of the truth means that fraud hasn't occurred, but instead relate to the severity of the crime.

The judge agreed with Frater's statement that, to meet the threshold for extradition, Meng's alleged misconduct would have to fall within the "four corners" of fraud law. Still, Holmes said Frater's response doesn't address her question.

"At this point where ROC was filed, a decision had been made by authorities that criminal liability was not being pursued. HSBC is to be considered from the perspective of the requesting state as a victim. I question the application of principles on facts of which the various possibilities were still opened and not inconsistent with the Crown's theory of the case," Holmes said.

As the extradition judge, Holmes' task isn't to rule on guilt, but to determine if the US has provided enough evidence to support a plausible case for prosecution. With the hearing in its final evidence phase, the judge must decide whether there is enough evidence to send Meng to trial in the US. Canada's minister of justice will step in and make the ultimate decision over extradition even if the judge rules in favor of extradition.

Meng, 49, the CFO of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, was arrested by Canadian authorities at the request of the US at the Vancouver International Airport on Dec 1, 2018. She is accused of misrepresenting the Chinese telecom company's relationship with Skycom in a PowerPoint presentation to HSBC in 2013 and putting the bank at risk of violating US sanctions against Iran. Meng and Huawei have repeatedly denied the accusations.

Meng's legal team will have chance to argue that the evidence against her is "manifestly unreliable" and "defective" – the standard for undermining the case for committal on Friday.

Meng's lawyers admit that charges of fraud are "common" in extradition requests, but this case is "different".

"No deception. No loss. Not even a plausible theory of risk. And no causal connection between the impugned representations and the deprivation said to have befallen the putative victim," the defence claimed in court documents filed ahead of the hearing.

The extradition proceedings are expected to end by Aug 20, and Holmes will likely reserve her decision until a later date.