Would-be medical exec from Iran barred from Canada over alleged ties to Tehran’s nuclear program

TORONTO – An Iranian who invested more than $1-million inside a Toronto-based medical company and was set being its vice-president has been barred from Canada over his alleged links to Tehran’s nuclear program.

The Canada Border Services Agency refused to issue a piece permit to Ramin Fallah, 49, labeling him a burglar threat because he had long worked at an Iranian import firm that was “of WMD (weapons of mass destruction) concern.”

According to a CBSA report marked “Secret,” between 1996 and 2013 Fallah was utilized by Fanavari Azmayeshgahi, which “has been associated with procurement attached to the Iranian nuclear program.”

As a result, the CBSA denied his application for a three-year visa. Fallah had sought the visa in Turkey so he could proceed to Toronto to serve as vice president and chief operations officer of Canadian Plasma Resources.

The company made headlines last year if this provided to pay blood donors, triggering a dispute with the Ontario government. In reaction, Canadian Plasma Resources halted plans to open 10 private plasma collection centres within the province.

But court documents show the organization has also encounter challenge with Canadian immigration authorities over Fallah, who invested $1.3 million in its holding company coupled with been picked to take a senior position at its parent, Exapharma Inc.

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The decision denying Fallah’s visa was upheld by the Federal Court on Friday. The ruling was based partly on classified evidence about Fanavari Azmayeshgahi the government convinced Justice Robert Barnes to not disclose for the reason doing this could harm national security.

While Iran has long denied it has a nuclear weapons program, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has accused Tehran of “lying” about its intentions. A Canadian intelligence assessment says Iran is at least seeking the ability to produce nuclear missiles.

Iran’s nuclear program is being developed partly by importing dual-use technologies and materials and diverting them into nuclear production, an exercise that has prompted international sanctions against more information on Iranian firms.

Canadian Plasma Resources couldn’t be reached for comment. A real estate listing indicates that its office on Spadina Ave. in Toronto is up for lease. The phone at the address listed in corporate records since it’s registered office was from service.

“We are shocked since there is no evidence to show that there is a matter of national security here,” Fallah’s lawyer Cathryn Sawicki said Wednesday. She said if Fallah or Fanavari Azmayeshgahi were a threat they’d be listed under Canada’s Special Economic Measures Act regulations, but they’re not.

Fanavari Azmayeshgahi continues to do business in the United States, Uk, Germany and elsewhere, she said. “It’s unclear exactly what the actual issue or concern was. All we know is that it had to do with nuclear proliferation, allegedly,” Sawicki said.

At the government Court, another lawyer representing Fallah had argued that Fanavari Azmayeshgahi was “a leading import company in neuro-scientific laboratory equipment” and was not on Canada’s list of sanctioned Iranian companies.

“Mr. Ramin Fallah doesn’t nor has he ever worked for an internationally sanctioned entity that deals with goods and products that are listed under SEMA (Special Economic Measures Act) regulations,” Immi Sikand wrote.

“His admission to Canada would pose no security risk because he has no current or past understanding of goods and/or products that could or could be exchanged with Iran to contribute to the proliferation risks presented by Iran’s weapons programs or nuclear programs.”

But the CBSA’s National Security Screening Division wrote within an 8-page Inadmissibility Assessment of Fallah that Fanavari Azmayeshgahi “has been identified in open sources by allied governments as being an entity of WMD concern.”

The United Kingdom considers it “an entity that poses ‘unacceptable perils of diversion to a WMD program of interest,'” while Japan also identified it as “an entity of potential WMD concern,” the CBSA report said. For example, Fanavari Azmayeshgahi imports x-ray machines, which are critical for WMD production, it said.

“When taking into consideration the above, you will find reasonable grounds to think the applicant, by virtue of his position as Md of Fanavari Azmayeshgahi Company, and by virtue of this company’s reported involvement within the procurement connected to the Iranian nuclear program, represents some risk towards the security of Canada and its allies,” CBSA wrote.

Justice Robert Barnes from the Federal Court agreed with the government, writing in his ruling that Fallah had failed to adequately explain Fanavari Azmayeshgahi’s import activities which “the decision to deny a visa to him was reasonable.”

Exapharma by Stewart Bell