Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese telecom giant
Huawei. The US Justice Department has charged Huawei and Ms Meng with
technology theft, fraud and obstruction of justice. PHOTO | CTV | AFP
OTTAWA,
Canada
on Friday launched the extradition of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou to
the United States -- the latest move in a case that has roiled relations
between the North American neighbours and China.
The
47-year-old businesswoman was changing planes in Vancouver in December
when she was detained at Washington's request on suspicion of violating
US sanctions on Iran -- sparking arrests of Canadians in China that were
seen as retaliatory.
"Today,
Department of Justice Canada officials issued an Authority to Proceed,
formally commencing an extradition process in the case of Ms. Meng
Wanzhou," the government said in a statement.
Ms
Meng, Huawei's chief financial officer and the daughter of the
company's founder Ren Zhengfei, is due in court on March 6, when
prosecutors will present the evidence against her and lay out detailed
arguments for her extradition.
EVIDENCE
The decision, the statement said, followed a
"thorough and diligent" review which found sufficient evidence to
warrant putting the matter before a judge.
At
the end of the process -- which could last months, or even years --
Canada's attorney general will have the final say on whether or not to
hand Ms Meng over.
China's embassy in
Canada said it was "utterly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes" the
decision to proceed with the extradition, calling it "political
persecution" and asking for Ms Meng's unconditional release.
She has been released on bail pending the outcome of the hearings.
China
is furious over the US charges against Ms Meng, saying they are the
product of "strong political motivations" and an attempt to undermine
its flagship telecoms company.
Huawei has strenuously denied any wrongdoing.
OTHER ACTIONS
Nine
days after Ms Meng's arrest, Chinese authorities detained two Canadians
-- former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor -- in
what was widely seen as an act of retaliation.
A third Canadian, meanwhile, had his sentence for drug trafficking upped from 15 years in prison to death row.
Canadian
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has insisted on a strict hands-off
approach to the issue, with his justice department stressing on Friday
that "Canada is a country governed by the rule of law."
Mr
Trudeau sacked his ambassador to China for undermining that position by
saying Ms Meng had a "strong" case against extradition, and later
adding that it would be "great for Canada" if the US dropped the case.
13 CHARGES
In January, the US announced 13 charges against Ms Meng, Huawei and two affiliates.
Officials separately filed 10 charges against two Huawei affiliates for allegedly stealing technology from T-Mobile.
Prosecutors
say that between 2007 and 2017, Ms Meng, Huawei and subsidiaries sought
to mask their business with Iran in violation of US and UN sanctions on
the Islamic republic.
Ms Meng in
particular "repeatedly lied" to bankers about the relationships between
the companies, especially with Skycom, a Huawei affiliate in Iran,
according to the charges.
That broke
the law, justice officials in Washington said, because the Iran business
involved US dollar transactions processed by banks through the United
States.
Huawei and the affiliates lied to US authorities and obstructed the investigation, court documents say.
The
company is also accused of a concerted effort to steal technology
related to a phone-testing robot dubbed Tappy from a T-Mobile USA lab in
Washington state, and of rewarding staff for stealing competitors'
technology secrets.
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