A judge has agreed to change the bail conditions for a senior executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies in Vancouver today, a day after the United States unsealed 13 criminal counts of conspiracy, fraud and obstruction against Meng Wanzhou and the company.
Meng appeared in B.C. Supreme Court seeking to replace an individual who provided a surety for her release with a couple who have agreed to put up their home as part of her $10 million bail.
Crown attorney John Gibb-Carsley agreed to the proposal by defence lawyer David Martin.
The case will return to court March 6 to discuss Canada's authority to proceed with an extradition request from the United States.
Meng, who is the company's chief financial officer and daughter of its founder, is charged in the U.S. with bank fraud, wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit both.
She is free on bail in Vancouver after her arrest Dec. 1 at the behest of U.S. authorities.
Justice William Ehrcke said he is unsure if he'll be able to continue to hear the case because of the time it could take to conclude.
"I have no idea whether we're looking at months or years," he said.
The U.S. Department of Justice laid out its case Monday against Meng and Huawei.
Both Meng and the company have denied any wrongdoing.
The indictment, based on 23 grand jury allegations, accuses Huawei and Meng of misrepresenting their ownership of a Hong Kong-based subsidiary between 2007 and 2017 in an effort to circumvent U.S. sanctions against Iran.
The company's U.S. branch is also accused of stealing trade secrets and equipment from cellphone provider T-Mobile USA.
Meng's arrest has touched off a political furor marked by days of angry anti-Canada rhetoric from China's foreign ministry, culminating Sunday in the firing of John McCallum as Canada's ambassador to China.
McCallum, a former longtime Liberal MP and cabinet minister, had publicly expressed confidence in Meng's case against any U.S. extradition order.
