Seven Individuals Added to Iran Sanctions

Summary#

These final rules amend the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations to add 7 people to Canada’s sanctions list. The additions create a broad ban on dealing with those individuals, freeze any assets in Canada, and took effect on August 4, 2023 (published August 16, 2023).

What it does#

• Adds these seven named individuals to the sanctions list: Abdolkarim Bani Tarafi, Reza Khaki, Majid Reza Niyazi-Angili, Vali Arlanizadeh, Ali Akbar Ahmadian (born in 1961), Fatemeh Haghshenas, and Masoumeh Teymouri.
• Updates the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations so that:
  • Anyone in Canada, and Canadians and Canadian companies abroad, are prohibited from dealing with property of listed persons or from providing them goods, services or funds.
  • Listed people will have their assets in Canada effectively frozen and will be added to the Consolidated Canadian Autonomous Sanctions List.
  • Listed individuals may be rendered inadmissible to Canada under immigration rules.
• Enforcement and penalties noted in the regulations include fines and jail time: upon summary conviction up to $25,000 and up to 1 year in prison; on indictment, up to 5 years in prison.
• The amendments came into force on the day they were registered (August 4, 2023) and applied before publication.

Who's affected#

• The seven named individuals listed above (they are the primary targets).
• Canadians and Canadian businesses, especially financial institutions, which must screen for and block dealings with listed persons. Compliance is expected to cause only minor costs for banks and similar firms.
• The rules target people described by the government as senior officials tied to entities that supply Iranian law enforcement with equipment, leaders of firms that produce lethal unmanned aerial vehicles, and a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
• Enforcement agencies involved include the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency.

Why it matters#

• These listings are a targeted effort by Canada to increase pressure on people it says are involved in human-rights abuses in Iran and in activities that threaten regional and international security.
• For the listed individuals, the measures restrict access to Canada’s financial system, freeze assets in Canada, and can affect travel and immigration status.
• For Canadians and Canadian companies, the practical effect is mainly to add these names to sanctions-screening lists; the government expects only limited disruption to trade or the wider economy.