Judge Orders Return of Items Seized During 2018 Arrest of Meng Wanzhou

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou leaves her Vancouver location to be her extradition proceeding successful British Columbia Supreme Court, successful Vancouver, Canada, connected Aug. 4, 2021. (Don Mackinnon/AFP via Getty Images)

VANCOUVER—A British Columbia Supreme Court justice has ordered the instrumentality of items seized from Meng Wanzhou during the Huawei executive’s apprehension astatine Vancouver’s airdrome implicit an extradition petition from the United States.

An bid dated Oct. 21 and signed by Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes says items taken by the RCMP during her Dec. 1, 2018, apprehension indispensable beryllium returned.

The tribunal papers released to media lists a MacBook laptop, an iPad, a USB stick, an iPhone, a Huawei phone, SIM cards and a Chinese passport.

The bid besides directs the RCMP to destruct a handwritten enactment containing the passcodes to Meng’s phones arsenic good arsenic photos of the enactment and of her device’s serial numbers.

U.S. authorities accused Meng of lying to HSBC astir Huawei’s power of a subsidiary, putting the slope astatine hazard of violating American sanctions against Iran.

Meng pleaded not blameworthy successful a U.S. tribunal successful September aft reaching a deferred prosecution agreement, the extradition petition was dropped and she returned to China immediately.

The tribunal heard during the extradition proceeding successful Vancouver that the passcodes to Meng’s phones were improperly shared with the RCMP by an cause with the Canada Border Services Agency, forming portion of an statement by Meng’s lawyers that she was subjected to an maltreatment of process and the extradition petition should beryllium thrown out.

Lawyers for Canada’s lawyer wide disagreed, arguing determination had been nary misconduct successful the extradition lawsuit that would person justified a enactment of proceedings.

Holmes had reserved her determination implicit Meng’s extradition successful August, astir a period earlier Meng struck the woody that would let for the charges against her to beryllium dismissed aft Dec. 1, 2022, provided she complies with definite obligations.

Two Canadians detained successful China soon aft Meng was arrested, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, returned to Canada conscionable arsenic she was heading backmost to China.