<p>Huawei's Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou has lost a key aspect of the trial on her extradition to the United States, a Canadian court announced on Wednesday.</p>.<p>Meng, a Chinese citizen, was arrested in December 2018 on a warrant issued by U.S. authorities, who accuse her of bank fraud and misleading HSBC about a Huawei-owned company's dealings with Iran, thereby breaking U.S. sanctions on Tehran.</p>.<p>Meng's lawyers argued that the case should be thrown out because the alleged offences were not a crime in Canada.</p>.<p>But British Columbia's Superior Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes disagreed, ruling the legal standard of double criminality had been met.</p>.<p>"Ms. Meng's approach ... would seriously limit Canada's ability to fulfill its international obligations in the extradition context for fraud and other economic crimes," Holmes said.</p>.<p>The ruling paves the way for the extradition hearing to proceed to the second phase starting June, examining whether Canadian officials followed the law while arresting Meng.</p>.<p>Closing arguments are expected in the last week of September and first week of October.</p>.<p>Shortly after the ruling was released Meng, 48, arrived at the courthouse but made no comment. Meng says she is innocent.</p>.<p>The Chinese embassy in Ottawa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>.<p>The case has strained relations between Ottawa and Beijing.</p>.<p>Huawei Technologies Co Ltd's legal team argued in January that since the sanctions against Iran did not exist in Canada at the time of her arrest, Meng's actions were not a crime in Canada.</p>.<p>Prosecutors representing the Canadian government countered that the lie itself was the fraud, regardless of the existence of sanctions.</p>
<p>Huawei's Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou has lost a key aspect of the trial on her extradition to the United States, a Canadian court announced on Wednesday.</p>.<p>Meng, a Chinese citizen, was arrested in December 2018 on a warrant issued by U.S. authorities, who accuse her of bank fraud and misleading HSBC about a Huawei-owned company's dealings with Iran, thereby breaking U.S. sanctions on Tehran.</p>.<p>Meng's lawyers argued that the case should be thrown out because the alleged offences were not a crime in Canada.</p>.<p>But British Columbia's Superior Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes disagreed, ruling the legal standard of double criminality had been met.</p>.<p>"Ms. Meng's approach ... would seriously limit Canada's ability to fulfill its international obligations in the extradition context for fraud and other economic crimes," Holmes said.</p>.<p>The ruling paves the way for the extradition hearing to proceed to the second phase starting June, examining whether Canadian officials followed the law while arresting Meng.</p>.<p>Closing arguments are expected in the last week of September and first week of October.</p>.<p>Shortly after the ruling was released Meng, 48, arrived at the courthouse but made no comment. Meng says she is innocent.</p>.<p>The Chinese embassy in Ottawa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>.<p>The case has strained relations between Ottawa and Beijing.</p>.<p>Huawei Technologies Co Ltd's legal team argued in January that since the sanctions against Iran did not exist in Canada at the time of her arrest, Meng's actions were not a crime in Canada.</p>.<p>Prosecutors representing the Canadian government countered that the lie itself was the fraud, regardless of the existence of sanctions.</p>