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A former Tehran police lieutenant living in Toronto under a new name is being deported from Canada for his \u201cimportant and critical role\u201d in a crime group that helped Iran evade sanctions.<\/p>\n
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The Immigration and Refugee Board ruled that Amin Yousefijam<\/a> was \u201ccrucial\u201d to the sanctions-dodging scheme, according to a copy of the 36-page decision released to Global News on Tuesday.<\/p>\n The IRB ruled that the Iranian citizen, who has resided in Canada since 2016, was the group\u2019s logistician and oversaw shipping arrangements for the transnational procurement operation.<\/p>\n The electronics, motors and other materials he exported to Iran were \u201cdual-use,\u201d meaning they had both civilian and military applications, and could be harnessed to manufacture weapons of mass destruction.<\/p>\n \u201cYousefijam is a member of an organization that engaged in criminal activity that directly contravened sanctions imposed by Canada and the U.S.A. against the export of certain items to Iran,\u201d IRB Member Christopher Marcinkiewicz wrote.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cI issue a deportation order against him.\u201d<\/p>\n The CBSA did not respond by deadline to questions about Yousefijam\u2019s deportation. Reached by phone, Yousefijam said he was still in Canada.<\/p>\n He would not say whether he had appealed his deportation order. \u201cThis is an ongoing legal matter so I won\u2019t be able to discuss that in the interview,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m considering my options and the minister has their options, so it\u2019s still ongoing,\u201d he said. \u201cRight now I\u2019m just, you know, living my life peacefully.\u201d<\/p>\n But the ruling could put an end to his life in Canada, which began a decade ago when he arrived from Tehran, where his name was Amin Riki<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrested in Toronto in 2021, he was extradited to Michigan to stand trial for his alleged role in the sanctions evasion gang, which was led by his brother Arash<\/a>.<\/p>\n After pleading guilty<\/a>, Yousefijam was deported to Ontario, where he changed his name again, this time to Ameen Cohen<\/a> \u2013 the third identity he is known to have adopted.<\/p>\n In its ruling, the IRB noted that when he applied to the Ontario government for a legal name change, he was asked whether he had ever been convicted of a criminal offence.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n He answered \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n The IRB accused him of \u201cproviding false information on a government form,\u201d rejecting Yousefijam\u2019s claim that a government employee told him he didn\u2019t need to report convictions outside Canada.<\/p>\n Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cI find that his failure to declare his U.S. conviction on his name change was done intentionally,\u201d the IRB wrote, adding Yousefijam\u2019s conduct was \u201cindicative of someone who will say whatever he believes serves his immediate purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n The deportation order was issued in July but was only released to Global News this week. It comes amid a U.S. war on Iran and Ottawa\u2019s continuing efforts to expel regime members from Canada.<\/p>\n Iranian-Canadians have long complained that members and supporters of Iran\u2019s repressive regime, as well as their families<\/a>, have been treating Canada as a safe haven<\/a>.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The government banned senior Iranian officials from Canada in 2022. Since then, the CBSA has opened dozens of investigations into regime members identified across the country.<\/p>\n As of Oct. 1, the Canada Border Services Agency said it had found 40 top-level Iranian regime officials living in Canadian cities. Two have been deported so far while eight have left voluntarily.<\/p>\n Two more are awaiting removal while the rest are to be brought before the Immigration and Refugee Board, or have already had deportation hearings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\nGet breaking National news<\/h2>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tArash (left) and Amin Yousefijam changed their names to Aurash and Ameen Cohen after they were convicted of helping Iran evade sanctions.\t\t\t\t<\/span>
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