Huawei's CFO Meng would pay for security to keep her in canada

Huawei Technologies Co. Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, jailed in Canada and facing extradition to the U.S., can be securely placed under house arrest by a combination of personnel and technology, argued the defense for one of China’s most prominent businesswomen.

A bail hearing resumed Monday for a second day in the high-profile case that’s transfixed investors on both sides of the Pacific as it stokes U.S.-China trade tensions. Meng followed the proceedings through an interpreter at the back of the Vancouver courtroom as her defense lawyers called expert witness Scot Filer to explain how her whereabouts could be secured.

Technology by itself would be no guarantee that Meng wouldn’t flee, Filer, chief executive officer of Lions Gate Risk Management Group and a former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, told the court. Using two security officers at a time, as well as a driver, and technology to oversee Meng’s whereabouts would minimize the flight risk, he said.

"I’m very confident what we will have in place will satisfy the court,” Filer said.

Meng would pay for the security operations as an added layer of assurance she would remain in the country if granted bail, her lawyer, David Martin, told the court.

Meng was arrested Dec. 1 during a stopover in Vancouver on her way to Mexico. The 46-year-old mother of four is accused of guiding a global effort by the Chinese telecom equipment giant to mask violations of sanctions on sales to Iran. It’s an unprecedented effort to hold accountable a senior executive who’s considered part of China’s inner circle -- the daughter of billionaire Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei.

Crown attorney John Gibb-Carsley has argued against granting Meng bail because she’s so wealthy that she will easily be able to pay whatever is required and then flee. Since learning of the investigation into her alleged activities, Meng has avoided the U.S. and other Huawei executives have stopped traveling to the U.S., he added.

Meng’s lawyers have in turn 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 where she owns more than C$20 million ($13 million) worth of property. They’ve also cited health issues, including daily medication, to argue for her release from a Vancouver-area detention center.

Meng’s only two valid passports -- from China and Hong Kong -- have already been confiscated, preventing her from boarding any commercial flights. The only place she could flee to by land is the U.S., the very country that seeks her extradition, they argue.

The case has upended the relationship between Washington and Beijing as they scramble to avert higher tariffs on $200 billion of goods that could depress an already slowing Chinese economy -- with potentially grave global consequences. The move by the U.S. to reach across borders to arrest a prominent Chinese national comes as U.S. political leaders seek to contain the Asian country’s rapid ascent, while holding it accountable to allegations of intellectual property theft and protectionism.

The hearing in Vancouver 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.

Should a judge agree to extradite Meng, she would have multiple chances to appeal the decision.