Daily US Times: Huawei is taking HSBC to court in the UK as part of its attempt to prevent the extradition of its chief financial officer from Canada to the US.

Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada on a request from the US over claims she misled HSBC in a 2013 meeting.

The Chinese telecom giant now hopes to gain access to HSBC documents that could help it undermine the US case for her extradition.

HSBC told that the application for disclosure was “without merit”.

The move comes amid political pressure on HSBC, which is based on UK but was founded in Hong Kong where it makes much of its profits.

On Friday, the court hearing in London draws the bank deeper into a legal battle which has raised tensions between China and Canada.

Meng Wanzhou, who is the daughter of Huawei’s founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested at Vancouver airport on 1 December 2018 because the US wants her to stand trial on charges including fraud. These are linked to the alleged violation of US sanctions against Iran, allegations she denies.

A meeting between HSBC and Ms Meng on 22 August 2013 is central to the claims.

Reuters news reports in the preceding months had raised questions about whether there had been a breach of trade sanctions on Iran by Hong Kong-based firm Skycom, a telecoms equipment seller.

At issue was whether Skycom was simply a business partner of Huawei’s – or a front for it to conceal its activities in Iran.

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