Washington, July 14 : A San Francisco woman, Xu Wang has rebutted charges that she was the ringleader of a scheme which illegally exported special paint used in the construction of a Pakistani nuclear plant.

Wang, 51, was arrested from the Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport last month and has since been in police custody.

Wang's lawyers argued at the court hearing that the charges framed against her were "technical," and that she was, at worst, peripherally involved in the scheme.

They added that any connection between the case against Wang and the global spread of nuclear weapons was purely speculative.

"This case is about paint. One thing we know for sure, it's not a case representing a threat to America or a threat of nuclear proliferation," the Daily Times quoted Wang's Attorney Bruce Baird, as saying.

Judge Deborah Robinson rejected the government's request that Wang be held without bond but stayed the order pending a hearing to set the terms of her release.

She and her husband had pledged to put up their 2.3 million dollars home in California, as collateral. (ANI)