TO:

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Honourable David Lametti,

Minister of Public Safety Honourable Bill Blair,

Minister of National Revenue Honourable Diane Lebouthillier,

On behalf of the Iranian Canadian Congress, I would like to express our extreme concern about the cases of individuals charged with corruption and embezzlement in Iran who flee to Canada.

Mahmoud Reza Khavari was a former Iranian banker who fled to Canada after a massive $2.6 billion financial fraud came to light in 2011. In December 2017, Khavari was sentenced to 30 years in prison and Interpol issued a warrant for him. Last year, we also informed you about the case of Marjan Sheikholeslami Aleagha, who is being indicted in Iran in a massive $10 billion corruption case and has invested in properties and started businesses in Canada. 

In recent days there have been multiple reports about several other individuals charged in corruption cases in Iran who have fled to Canada and transferred millions of dollars of the money they have made through embezzlement and bribery to this country. While the Iranian Canadian Congress cannot independently verify the details of these reports our preliminary investigation shows that the following individuals with ties to Canada must be added to the list:

- Ali Ashraf Riahi: Charged in a petrochemical corruption case. LINK

- Jalil Sobhani: Charged in a corruption and bribery case involving the former deputy of the Iranian judiciary LINK

- Omid Assadbeigi: Charged in a corruption and bribery case. In a recent letter, the workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industrial Complex directly appealed to Canadians to investigate and return millions of dollars in corruption money that he has allegedly transferred to Canada. LINK

Our community and the Iranian Canadian Congress have raised concerns about these cases on several occasions both during the former government of Prime Minister Harper and during the time of the current Liberal government. However, Iranian-Canadians have never received any response, nor has the government taken any action on this issue. 

While these individuals have been able to move to Canada and invest their money freely, many ordinary Iranian-Canadians have been unfairly singled out in the immigration process and have been subject to banking restrictions because of their nationality and country of origin. Indeed, the community is aware of cases of Iranian international students whose bank accounts were closed with only a few hundred dollars in them.

The inaction of the Canadian government on these cases has allowed individuals who have enriched themselves from corruption to evade justice while innocent Iranian-Canadians have to deal with the suspicions that are levied against the whole community because of the actions of these corrupt individuals.

As such, we call on the Canadian government and the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of National Revenue to immediately launch investigations through responsible agencies about the cases of individuals mentioned in this letter using the full power of the Canadian law including but not limited to anti-money laundering laws. The Iranian Canadian Congress is ready to provide more information and support the Canadian government. 

Our government and law enforcement agencies must prevent Canada from becoming a haven for corrupt money. It is important to emphasize that money laundering in Canada is a significant challenge and it is not limited to the Iranian community. Our government must act now.

Sincerely, 

Find below, in French and English, a letter from the ICC's President Soudeh Ghasemi to the Government of Quebec opposing their proposed changes to Quebec's PEQ (Programme de l’expérience québécoise/ Québec Experience Program) immigration program. The proposed changes to the program will not only harm the lives of countless international students and workers, but also harm Quebec's ability to gain access to much needed skills that will be required in the post-pandemic recovery.

Read below:

Adressé aux honorables premier ministre du Québec, M. Legault, et M. Jolin-Barrette

Je vous écris en tant que présidente du Congrès irano-canadien, une organisation à but non lucratif, non partisane et non religieuse défendant les intérêts de la communauté irano-canadienne.

Nous voulons vous exprimer notre vive inquiétude face aux récentes réformes proposées par votre gouvernement sur le (PEQ), un programme d'immigration qui offre aux étudiants internationaux et aux travailleurs étrangers temporaires déjà au Québec, une voie vers la résidence permanente au Canada. 

Nous voulons exprimer notre opposition aux réformes annoncées du PEQ qui ont été proposées par votre ministre de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration, M. Simon Jolin-Barrette, pour les raisons suivantes.

Nous croyons qu'en imposant les critères d'admissibilité obligatoires pour postuler au PEQ à 12 mois d'expérience de travail à temps plein et en limitant les professions admissibles, votre gouvernement met en place des obstacles inutiles pour acquérir le statut de résident permanent au Québec. Cela affaiblit non seulement l'économie du Québec, mais discrimine également particulièrement les employés à temps partiel et ceux qui tentent de contribuer et de s'intégrer à la société québécoise.

Nous croyons qu'en instaurant ces réformes, qui n'incluent aucune forme de protection pour les étudiants et les travailleurs internationaux déjà au Québec, le gouvernement du Québec décourage de nombreux étudiants et travailleurs qui ont déménagé dans la province en supposant l'accessibilité actuelle du PEQ, et rend la vie de beaucoup de ces résidents extrêmement précaire, surtout au milieu d'une urgence de santé publique et économique. Compte tenu des circonstances actuelles, on peut se demander comment rendre la résidence du Québec peu attrayante pour les étudiants et les travailleurs internationaux pourrait être justifiée, économiquement ou autrement.

D'un point de vue humanitaire, il est également évident que ces réformes indiquent un mépris total pour la vie et les moyens de subsistance des nombreux étudiants internationaux qui paient des frais de scolarité extrêmement élevés et de tous les travailleurs étrangers temporaires, en particulier ceux qui travaillent sous les niveaux professionnels C et D dont le travail est directement lié à la stabilité économique du Québec.

Bref, nous croyons que les réformes proposées exercent une pression indue sur les travailleurs et les étudiants internationaux, tout en décourageant l'immigration au Québec faute d'un avenir productif dans la province.

Ainsi, nous aimerions que vous mettiez un terme complet à ces réformes et instauriez des réformes facilitatrices, plutôt que le contraire, à l'obtention de la résidence au Québec par les étudiants et les travailleurs internationaux.

Soudeh Ghasemi,

Présidente

Congrès Irano-Canadien

****ENGLISH TEXT ****

Addressed to the Hon. Premier of Quebec Mr. Legault, and Mr. Jolin-Barrette

I am writing you this email as the President of the Iranian Canadian Congress, a non-profit, non-partisan, and non-religious organization advocating for the interests of the Iranian-Canadian community.

This letter expresses our concerns about the recent reforms proposed by your government onto the (PEQ), an immigration program that offers international students and temporary foreign workers already in Quebec a pathway to Canadian permanent residency. 

We want to express our opposition to the announced reforms to the PEQ which has been proposed by your Immigration, Francisation and Integration minister, Mr. Simon Jolin-Barrette, for the following reasons. 

We believe, by enforcing the mandatory criteria of eligibility for applying to PFQ to 12 months of full-time work experience, and by limiting the eligible occupations, your government puts forward unnecessary barriers for acquiring permanent residency status in Quebec. This not only weakens Quebec’s economy, but also discriminates especially against part-time employees and those who are attempting to contribute and integrate into Quebec society.

We believe that by instituting these reforms, which fail to include any kind of protection for international students and workers already in Quebec, the Quebec government discourages many students and workers whom moved to the province under the assumption of the present accessibility of the PEQ, and makes the lives of many of its residents extremely unstable, especially now that we are in the midst of a public health and economic emergency. Given the present circumstances, one wonders how making Quebec-residency unattractive for international students and workers could possibly be justified, economically or otherwise.

From a humanitarian standpoint, it is also evident that these reforms indicate total disregard for the lives and livelihoods of the many international students who are paying extremely high tuition fees, and all temporary foreign workers, especially those who are working under the occupational levels C and D whose labour is directly related to Quebec’s economic stability. 

In short, we believe that the proposed reforms exact more undue pressure on international workers and students, while discouraging immigration to Quebec for want of a productive future in the province.

Thus, we would like you to stop these reforms entirely and institute reforms making it easier, rather than harder, for international students and international workers to obtain Quebec residency.

Soudeh Ghasemi

President

Iranian Canadian Congress

The Iranian Canadian Congress (ICC) is proud to join hundreds of academics, experts, and civil society activists who signed this open letter that calls for an end to US sanctions on Iran during this global pandemic. Find below the letter. You may also find it at this link.

This week, confirmed infections of the rapidly spreading COVID-19 surpassed 586,000 worldwide and global deaths rose past 26,800 as the outbreak continues to spread across the Middle East, Europe, and North America. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), worldwide deaths have tripled while global cases have more than doubled in the past week.

Iran is among the hardest-hit countries by the pandemic, with over 2,300 deaths and 32,000 cases of infections from the COVID-19. It is also the only country that is dealing with this level of cases while living under severe economic sanctions.

In 2018, the Trump administration imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran and implemented a policy of maximum pressure after withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231.

While on paper the US administration has provided humanitarian exemptions in its sanctions regime, reports from Iranian civil society, international aid organizations, and human rights groups including Human Rights Watch, show a different reality on the ground as US sanctions, including banking restrictions, have severely impacted Iranians’ access to medical equipment and essential medicine.

In recent weeks, the United Kingdom, Russia, China, and Pakistan have asked the U.S to ease sanctions on Iran during this unprecedented global pandemic. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has ignored these requests and instead have imposed even more sanctions on the country.

We believe that it is not only unjust to leave Iranian people alone in this global crisis, but is indeed a violation of Iranians’ inalienable rights to health and access to medical care. Furthermore, we believe that this pandemic is a shared global threat and it could only be defeated when all countries and people come together and support one another.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, call on all members of the United Nations Security Council to act in compliance with international law and UNSC resolution 2231 and to support Iranian people in their fight against this global pandemic.

We also urge the US lawmakers to pressure the Trump administration to immediately lift all sanctions that are impeding Iran’s response to the outbreak, including financial sanctions.

Find below an email that the ICC 's President Soudeh Ghasemi sent to Canadian Government Ministers asking Canada to help Iran during the COVID19 crisis:

Kind Attention:

The Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of International Development

MP Rob Oliphant, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Ms. Janet Johnson, Vice President Philanthropy Canadian Red Cross 

I am contacting you on behalf of the Iranian Canadian Congress (ICC), a non-profit, non-partisan, and non-religious organization, established in 2007, to advance the interests of the Iranian-Canadian community.

In recent weeks Iran has been severely impacted by the Coronavirus outbreak. The country has the third greatest number of deaths from the COVID-19 after China and Italy. According to the latest official statistics, Iran has confirmed 429 deaths and more than 10,000 cases of infections from this global epidemic. Iran has also been the main source of dozens of cases in countries including Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The concerning part is that some studies suggest that there are still many more unidentified cases in the country and the situation is expected to become even worse in the upcoming days. 

Iran has published a list of medical items and equipment it urgently needs which you can find attached to this email. Iran has communicated its list of requirements with the International Federation of Red Cross as well asking the international community for support in combating this COVID-19 outbreak in the country. Last week, some European countries along with the World Health Organization (WHO) have reportedly provided both technical and financial support to Iran.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his $1B COVID-19 package that included “ an additional $50 million to help vulnerable countries prepared for and respond to the virus, supporting efforts of the WHO and other partners.” We certainly believe that Iran is vulnerable and should meet the requirements to receive help and support from Canada. We urge the Canadian government to help Iran in its fight with this global pandemic.   

Last year, the ICC had a successful experience with the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) in the case of severe flooding in Iran. The federal government also provided aid through the Red Cross. Indeed, that is why we are reaching out again to explore ways in which we could help our government and Canadian Red Cross to, once again, provide support for the Iranian people in this time of emergency. Last time, the Government of Canada generously provided $250,000 to Iran through the International Federation of Red Cross and the CRC also launched a fundraising appeal to help flood victims in Iran. Based on the final report from the CRC, $150,000 was raised through this channel and was sent to Iran as part of the emergency assistance fund. 

We strongly believe there is an urgent need to take similar actions now and the ICC is fully prepared to help the government and the Canadian Red Cross in any way possible, especially when it comes to fundraising within the Iranian-Canadian community in Canada.

Sincerely,

Soudeh Ghasemi

President

Iranian Canadian Congress