Former Iranian policeman, convicted in US of aiding sanctions evasion, faces Canadian deportation

Iranian-Canadians and Jewish groups have long said that Iranian officials and elites have moved to Canada, threatening their safety.

By Mike Wagenheim, JNS

The Canadian government ordered that a former Iranian policeman, who was living in Toronto under an assumed name, be deported after he pleaded guilty in the United States to aiding the regime in Tehran.

The Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board decided in July that Amin Yousefijam played an “important and critical role” in an organization that helped Iran evade sanctions, Global News reported.

He has lived in Canada since 2016.

The board said he served as a logistician and shipping operations manager for a crime group led by his brother that exported “dual-use” materials, which can be used for both civilian and military purposes, to Iran.

“Yousefijam is a member of an organization that engaged in criminal activity that directly contravened sanctions imposed by Canada and the United States against the export of certain items to Iran,” a board member wrote in a 36-page report that Global News obtained.

He first arrived in Canada as Amin Riki, the name he used before his arrest and extradition to Michigan in 2021. He pleaded guilty, was sentenced to time served and then changed his name again to Ameen Cohen.

Yousefijam failed to note on his name change application that he was convicted of a criminal offense, though Yousefijam claims he thought only offenses on Canadian soil counted, according to the board.

Iranian-Canadians and Jewish groups have long said that Iranian officials and elites have moved to Canada, threatening their safety. Some are undergoing deportation procedures or investigations.

Senior Iranian officials have been banned from entering Canada since 2022.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the advocacy arm of Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA, told JNS that it and “thousands of Canadians have consistently called on the federal government to ensure that Canada is not a safe haven for Islamic Republic officials.”

“The federal government must accelerate removals and ensure the Canada Border Services Agency, police, and security agencies have the funding, resources, and tools they need to identify and remove dangerous individuals who pose national security threats,” CIJA said.