(Bloomberg) -- The lawyer for Huawei Technologies Co. Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou proposed four new guarantors willing to put up millions of dollars to ensure the executive stays in Canada, in an attempt to persuade the judge to release her on bail as she awaits a U.S. extradition request on fraud charges.
Justice William Ehrcke of the British Columbia Supreme Court had previously voiced doubts about Meng’s husband Liu Xiaozong serving as sole guarantor, even backed by C$15 million ($11.2 million) mostly tied to the value of couple’s home equity, since he doesn’t have Canadian residency.
As the hearing entered its third day, Meng’s lawyer, David Martin, presented additional candidates, including a realtor for the couple’s properties in Vancouver, a former Huawei employee, a homemaker whose husband once worked for Huawei and a part-time yoga instructor.
The people are putting up about C$3 million, offering their homes and retirement savings as a guarantee that Meng would remain in Canada while free on bail. If she skipped town, the people would lose their money and properties.
Meng was arrested Dec. 1, at the request of U.S. authorities, as she changed planes in Vancouver on her way to Mexico. The 46-year-old mother of four is accused of conspiring to defraud banks to unwittingly clear transactions linked to Iran, in violation of U.S. sanctions. The U.S. has 60 days from the arrest date to turn over its full extradition case with supporting evidence.
A ruling is expected later Tuesday afternoon, after the judge said he plans to offer ‘oral reasons’ at 2 p.m. local time.
Meng’s lawyers have argued their client has no criminal record, cited high-profile character witnesses to vouch for her, and say she has substantive ties that ensure she would remain in Vancouver. They’ve also cited health issues,including daily medication, to argue for her release from a Vancouver-area detention center.
Her arrest has sparked protests by the Chinese government, which says Meng committed no crime. She is the daughter of Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei, one of the world’s biggest makers of smartphones and networking equipment. The case has shaken global financial markets and threatened the fragile trade relationship between the U.S. and China.
The decision is the start of a long legal process in Canada that could end with Meng being sent to the U.S. to stand trial. Even though the North American neighbors have a longstanding treaty governing extradition, it can take months, even years, for a defendant to be handed over, if at all.
At some point, American authorities will have to reveal at least some evidence to justify the request to have Meng turned over and to show why they believe she committed a crime. A potentially thornier issue is whether Meng’s alleged transgressions were illegal in both the U.S. and Canada.
The U.S. has accused Meng of hiding ties between Huawei and a company called Skycom that did business in Iran, violating international sanctions.
Canada has an Iranian-sanctions policy, but it’s less clear if violations are enforced through the country’s criminal code. Sanctions violations aren’t among the extraditable crimes described in the treaty, though there are provisions for fraud by a corporate officer and receiving proceeds from illegal activity.
(Updates with detail of the case from sixth paragraph.)