Meng's defense: HSBC wasn't at risk of loan loss

A lawyer for Huawei's chief financial officer argued Monday that there's no proof that HSBC sustained an increased risk of financial loss as a result of Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou's alleged actions.

Defense attorney Frank Addario made the argument as he asked a British Columbia Supreme Court judge to admit new evidence in Meng's extradition case.

On Monday, Addario argued that a sworn statement from a Huawei accountant would show that in its request to extradite Meng, the United States misrepresented the risk HSBC allegedly incurred. The affidavit from an accountant details credit facilities and loans issued between 2013 and 2017.

"There was never any risk the bank could incur a loss," Addario said. "The court needs accurate evidence about the loans and credit facilities."

Meng, 49, was arrested by Canada at the request of the US at Vancouver International Airport on Dec 1, 2018. She has been accused of bank fraud for allegedly misleading HSBC into breaking US sanctions against Iran, which Meng and Huawei have denied. Meng has since been living under house arrest in Vancouver.

Meng's team suggested HSBC executed the first loan a week before a presentation by her, arguing that the bank could not have been influenced by it. The next two loans were to Huawei subsidiaries, and the defense said that they were too far removed from sanction-violation risks, The Canadian Press reported.

Addario told the court that evidence provided by the US in the case against Meng is "manifestly unreliable" because it includes a 2017 loan that wasn't connected to HSBC.

Addario said the evidence should be allowed if the Crown (the government) plans to argue HSBC suffered a real risk of loan loss as a result of her alleged actions, according to The Canadian Press.

Canadian prosecutor Robert Frater said the US record of the case does not allege the bank actually lost money, and that the government did not need to show any financial loss occurred to prove the bank was exposed to risk.

Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes already has rejected a bid by Meng to admit additional sworn testimony from employees of Huawei. The judge said in a ruling released Friday that the purported evidence has no purpose in an extradition hearing, which has a different mandate than a trial.

While she rejected the sworn testimony, Holmes provisionally allowed an expert report to be admitted into evidence.

Meng's lawyers have previously argued that the case should be dismissed due to alleged interference by former US president Donald Trump, who said that he reserved the right to weigh in on the case if it would help the US secure a trade deal with China or serve other American national security interests.

Meng's legal team also will present arguments that US and Canadian authorities made legal missteps during her initial arrest and questioning, and that her extradition should be invalidated.

The court adjourned until Wednesday, and when the hearing resumes, the conduct of Canadian police and border officers will be called into question by Meng's defense team, which will argue that her rights were violated during her questioning and arrest.

The hearings are scheduled to conclude in May, but the potential for appeals from either side means the case could drag on for years.

Agencies contributed to this story.