US plans to seek Huawei CFO's extradition before Jan 30 deadline

The United States confirmed Wednesday that it plans to seek the extradition of Chinese telecom giant Huawei's finance director, who was detained in Canada on a US request, before a January 30 deadline. "We will continue to pursue the extradition of defendant Ms. Meng Wanzhou, and will meet all deadlines set by the US/Canada Extradition Treaty," said Justice Department spokesperson Marc Raimondi.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, was arrested at Vancouver airport on December 1 at the request of the United States, which says she violated American sanctions on Iran. She has since been freed on Can$10 million (USD 7.5 million) bail and is awaiting a hearing on her extradition. According to the agreement between the two countries, the United States has 60 days after an arrest made at its request in Canada to formalize an extradition request. Once a request has been submitted, the Canadian justice ministry has 30 days to begin official extradition proceedings, though the process can take months or years.

Meng's arrest has sparked an escalating diplomatic crisis between Ottawa and Beijing. Two Canadians have since been detained in China on national security grounds, in what is thought to be retaliation for the arrest. A Chinese court also this month sentenced a Canadian man to death for drug trafficking following a retrial, a drastic increase of his previous 15-year prison sentence. 

(With inputs from agencies.)