Arrested Huawei CFO is suing Canada for wrongfully searching equipment

The Huawei CFO arrested in Canada is suing authorities in that country because her smartphones, iPad and computer were illegally searched. She was not formally arrested until three hours after the search.

The charges were filed against Canadian Customs, a police officer and the Canadian government, according to Bloomberg. The CFO, Meng Wanzhou, claims that she was not informed in time about the reason why her belongings were searched and that she was not immediately given the opportunity to engage a lawyer. The eventual arrest would have been deliberately delayed to gather evidence, under the guise of a regular customs or immigration case.

Meng was stopped in Vancouver on December 1 last year when she tried to transfer from her flight from Hong Kong to Mexico. Two smartphones, an iPad and a computer were seized. Meng claims she was asked to hand over her passwords. She was not officially arrested until three hours after the search.

Authorities allegedly searched her belongings illegally, violating her right to privacy, the indictment said. She was also allegedly interrogated illegally. The customs and police are said to have misused the opportunity ‘to illegally persuade her to provide evidence and information’.

The indictment comes at a time when the Canadian government must decide whether to extradite the CFO to the US. That country accuses Huawei of circumventing the US trade embargo against Iran by supplying US products to that country. The US therefore requested the arrest of the chief financial officer. China accuses the US of political reasons, such as the trade war between the two, underlying the arrest.