POLITICO Quotes Jonathan Poling on Possible Extradition of Huawei CFO to United States

Jonathan Poling, a partner in the international trade practice at Akin Gump, has been quoted in the POLITICO article “Key deadline nears in Huawei extradition case.” The article reports on the decision confronting Canada on whether to extradite Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of Huawei, to the United States for alleged violations of U.S. sanctions against Iran.

According to the article, the case has strained relations among the United States, Canada and China, ever since Meng was arrested in December during a layover at the airport in Vancouver. Further, while Canada and the United States have an agreement to authorize the extradition process in matters where an alleged crime is illegal in both countries, the answer here is not so clear cut since Ottawa does not apply its sanctions laws to foreigners living outside the country.

“It’s not, in my mind, a forgone conclusion that the U.S. wins here or that it wins on all counts,” said Poling. “Sanctions cases in particular can be quite controversial.”

It’s possible that Canada could approve extradition proceedings for some of the U.S. charges against Meng and not others, the article notes. That may explain why the U.S. indictment emphasizes financial crimes, Poling said, that would also, in theory, violate Canadian law. “That likely was deliberately done to increase the odds of getting extradition.”