Canada Denies Sharing Huawei CFO’s Device Data With FBI
No data abuse by the Mounties. Canada insists it did not share data from Huawei CFO Wanzhou’s devices with the American FBI
The Canadian attorney general has reportedly filed affidavits that insist information identifying Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou’s electronic devices was not shared with the FBI.
Meng Wanzhou was arrested by Canadian authorities at Vancouver airport in December 2018 for alleged sanction busting with Iran.
The Canadian government is currently being sued by Meng Wanzhou, and her lawsuit alleges that she was detained, searched and interrogated for three hours in violation of her constitutional rights.
CFO lawsuit
Her civil lawsuit came after Canada decided (as expected) in March to grant the extradition of the daughter of the founder of Huawei, to the United States.
According to Reuters, last month Wanzhou and her lawyers asserted that members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had illegally shared sensitive identifying information about her electronic devices with the FBI.
“The applicant’s allegation that the information was shared by the RCMP with the FBI is unfounded,” lawyers for Canada’s attorney general reportedly said in court documents released to media on Thursday.
And Reuters reported that Canada’s attorney general filed eight affidavits this month stating that members of the FBI and RCMP were discussing what information would be necessary in the case of a mutual legal assistance treaty request is made by the United States, which is made by one country to another when requiring the exchange of information to enforce laws.
The RCMP did not share the information, the affidavits written by past and present members of the police force reportedly stated.
Sanctions busting
Meng Wanzhou has been charged in the United States with bank fraud and she is accused of misleading HSBC about Huawei’s business in Iran, which is under US sanctions.
Essentially, the United States is accusing both Wanzhou and Huawei of conspiring to defraud HSBC and other banks by misrepresenting Huawei’s relationship with Skycom Tech Co Ltd, an alleged front company that operated in Iran.
Huawei has always said that Skycom was a local business partner, but the US believes it was an unofficial subsidiary used to conceal Huawei’s business in Iran.
Meng insists she is innocent and is fighting her extradition to the US.
She is currently living in one of her two multimillion-pound homes in Vancouver on bail, and is obliged to wear an ankle monitor and pay for security guards.
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