Canadian border official set to wrap up testimony in Huawei CFO US extradition case

VANCOUVER: A Canadian border official on Thursday (Dec 10) admitted to giving "incomplete" testimony and breached a judge's instruction not to discuss the case as witness cross examination in Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou's US extradition hearing resumed.

Testimony was delayed for more than an hour on Thursday morning after prosecutors revealed that Nicole Goodman, a chief with Canada’s border agency at Vancouver's airport, had reached out to a Canadian Department of Justice lawyer with a question about attorney-client privilege.

Goodman, who oversaw a staff of 250 at Vancouver’s airport when Meng was arrested, said that she gave "incomplete" testimony. The court heard that she had reached out to a government lawyer on Wednesday with a concern that some of her testimony was privileged.

Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes reminded Goodman to answer fully and truthfully and not to concern herself with privilege issues in future.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested on a US warrant for bank fraud at Vancouver International Airport on Dec 1, 2018. She is accused of misrepresenting Huawei Technologies’s dealings with Iran, putting one of its lenders, HSBC Holdings, at risk of violating United States trade sanctions.

Meng, 48, has denied the charges and mounted a defence, asking that her extradition be thrown out because of abuses of process.

Her lawyers have argued that U.S. and Canadian authorities coordinated ahead of her arrest, using the extended investigative powers of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to interrogate her without a lawyer present. They further allege that private information collected by the CBSA was inappropriately shared with the FBI.

Prosecutors say the investigation and arrest followed standard procedures and the extradition should move forward.

Goodman also testified that the border agent who admitted to giving the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) device passcodes in error was not investigated or disciplined for violating the agency’s information-sharing policy.

Goodman testified on Wednesday that she told the police officer responsible for handling exhibits in Meng's case that the passcodes had been given in error. Sharing passcodes of Meng's electronic devices has become a flashpoint in the case, with her lawyers saying that it amounts to violation of her civil rights.

Relations between China and Canada have been strained since Meng's arrest. China arrested Canadian citizens Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig soon after Meng's arrest and charged them for espionage.

On Wednesday, Canadian Foreign Minister Francois Champagne called the pair "incredible examples of perseverance and determination."