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| Picture Credit: CP24 |
A provincial court in Canada has found Mahmoud Yadegari guilty of violating UN sanctions against Iran under the so-called "United Nations Act." Yadegari ran an import-export business in Toronto, through which he is said to have illegally exported to Iran devices that could theoretically be used in the development of nuclear weapons. Yadegari is the first person ever convicted under the non-proliferation provisions in customs laws statutes under Canada's Criminal Code.
By Peter Small
Mahmoud Yadegari knew or was "willfully blind" to the fact that the pressure transducers he acquired were restricted for export to Iran and he knowingly sold them to someone in that country, ruled Justice Cathy Mocha.
"Mr. Yadegari was not a sophisticated export-import operator. However, for three years this was his business. Anyone in this business would know . . . the acts and regulations."
The provincial court judge convicted the 36-year-old Iranian-born immigrant of nine of 10 counts with which he was charged.
She found he contravened the Criminal Code, Customs Act, the Export and Import Permits Act and, for the first time in Canada, non-proliferation provisions in the United Nations Act and the Nuclear Safety and Control Act.
In March 2009, he tried to export to Iran via Dubai two of 10 pressure transducers he purchased for a total of $11,645 from Setra Systems Inc. of Massachusetts, Mocha found.
The instruments, which convert pressure measurements into electrical signals for computers, have benign commercial uses but can be used in the enrichment of uranium for nuclear weapons.
Yadegari operated his one-man export business from his North York bungalow before RCMP officers arrested him in April 2009.
He showed no reaction as the judge read her lengthy decision, in which she found he deliberately misled suppliers and created forged paperwork.
Mocha said he corresponded frequently by email with his contact in Iran, Nima Tabari, seeking guidance and clarification on how to deal with North American suppliers who were asking pointed questions about the end use of the transducers.
Frank Addario, Yadegari's lawyer, said outside court his client is disappointed with the ruling.
"The evidence is pretty clear that he was a bit player in whatever operation was taking place," Addario said.
Federal prosecutor Bradley Reitz told reporters that Yadegari could have legally shipped the devices to Iran but that he did not even apply for the three required permits, which would have opened him to official scrutiny.
"I think it's a strong warning to exporters that it's important to know these rules and to follow them," Reitz said.
Yadegari, who has been in custody since his arrest 14 months ago, returns to court July 29 for sentencing. The maximum penalty he faces under the U.N. act is five years.
