Russia is making headline news for human rights violations, and some political actors are standing up for human rights. In the end, the political actors are paying high prices for their courageous acts to stand against the injustice that they face with their lives. The human rights violation can be in light of the absence of economic security as one segment of the population enjoys economic prosperity. At the same time, the rest of society is deprived of economic prosperity.
The issue of human rights violations is not an exclusive matter for Russia. Human rights violations are happening in many countries around the world. Remarkably, the Islamic Republic of Iran is nefarious to violate human rights. The theocratic regime is violating the human rights of Iranians. Plus, it plans to start World War Three with its nuclear capability by promising the wipe Israel from the map. Consequently, the theocratic regime faced economic sanctions as an alternative to a war measure to dissuade Iran's regime from having nuclear capability. The rulers in Iran remained steadfast to have the atomic ability by circumventing the economic sanctions.
This paper looks at the history of The Magnitsky Act and examining how the regime's foot soldiers are circumventing the economic sanctions and how Canada is not enforcing The Magnitsky Act.
Mr. Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian tax lawyer, investigated Russian tax officials and accused the tax officials of fraud of $230 million. Russia's security forces apprehended him for fraud and imprisoned him. While Mr. Magnitsky was in the authority's custody, he developed gall stones, pancreatitis, and calculous cholecystitis. The administration refused to provide medical care to Mr. Magnitsky, and his health began to deteriorate. There was also a claim that while he was in prison, the correctional officers assaulted, and he passed away on November 16, 2009, in Moscow prison.
In December 2012, the U.S.President Mr. Obama and the U.S. Congress formulated Moldova Jackson–Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012. It is also known as The Magnitsky Act, which authorizes the U.S. government to sanction those individuals who violate human rights with legal jurisdiction to freeze their assets and disallowed them from entering the U.S.
Canada has a national border with the U.S., and Canadian politics need to reflect U.S. politics to build the U.S. and Canada at a state of harmony. Canada legislated its version of The Magnitsky Act.
"An Act to provide for the taking of restrictive measures in respect of foreign nationals responsible for gross violations of internationally recognized human rights and to make related amendments to the Special Economic Measures Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
Preamble
Whereas human rights and the rule of law are integral to international law and Canada has repeatedly asserted its commitment to promoting global justice and respect for human rights;
Whereas signatory States to international human rights agreements have committed themselves to the obligations and responsibilities set out in those agreements;"
The Islamic Republic of Iran has nuclear ambition and needs money to build its atomic capability. The regime in Iran used Marjan Sheikholeslami Aleagha to circumvent the economic sanctions. She founded various Iran and Turkey companies to help Iran bypass the sanctions and sell its petrochemical products.
In March 2019, Marjan Sheikholeslami Aleagha was formally accused of being involved in a giant embezzlement court case of a value of 6.6 billion EU of the assets of Iran National Petrochemical Company while attempting to bypass Iran sanctions. Marjan Sheikholeslami Aleagha fled Iran and took asylum in Canada.
She embezzles €6.6b of petrochemical exports under the sanctions. The case is described by Shargh newspaper as the most significant corruption case in Iranian history. She is charged with €7,065,529 in one case and $8,710,384 embezzlement in another by an ongoing trial in Tehran.
In another case, Sheikholeslami is accused of receiving funds from Sepanir Oil and Gas Energy Engineering Company, owned by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to import goods that she never delivered and escaped Iran to Canada. The amount is not disclosed yet.
She was Part of Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters is an Iranian engineering firm controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The firm, also known as GHORB, is the IRGC's primary engineering arm and one of Iran's largest contractors in industrial and development projects. Khatam al-Anbiya was created during the 1980–88 Iran–Iraq War to help rebuild the country and has diversified over the years into companies dealing with mechanical engineering, energy, mining, and defense. The company and some of its subsidiaries are affected by UN sanctions.
In 2011, Khavari resigned from his position at Bank Melli amid allegations of being involved in the Iranian embezzlement scandal of roughly 2.6 billion dollars. The scandal involved using forged documents to buy assets that included major state-owned companies fraudulently; Bank Melli, which Khavari led as its chairman of the board and managing director, was accused of facilitating fraudulent payments. Khavari went to the United Kingdom to attend a Lloyd Bank meeting and announced his resignation by faxing it to Iranian officials on Tuesday, September 27, 2011.
In his resignation letter, Khavari implicated another bank as the source of the fraud and claimed that he was resigning in order "to respect public opinion," according to Bloomberg.
At the end of September 2011, he moved to Canada, where he has citizenship. In Khavari's name date to 2001, Toronto property records when he took out a mortgage for a $615,000 property on Elmwood Ave. in North York. At one time, Khavari owned a Toronto-based company called Soaring Properties. To protect his capital from seizure, Khavari invested in Toronto real estate by giving money to his sons, Khashayar and Ardavan. He also signed his 3-million dollar house in Bridle Path, Toronto, over to his daughter, Parandis Khavari, and transferred their other two homes to Mrs. Khavari's name only. Despite numerous requests from Iranian police, Canadian authorities did not extradite Khavari. He may face the death penalty if convicted by the judicial system of Iran.
On October 31, 2011, House of Commons of Canada member Irwin Cotler called for an investigation on how he became a Canadian citizen.
In 2016 Bloomberg reported that Khavari and his sons have been active in the Toronto real estate market even after the scandal. From 2012 to 2016, the family has purchased at least $12.1-million worth of properties under various names and legal entities. Additionally, they are responsible for roughly $11-million from 10 different mortgages.
Many of the companies and institutions that Khavari has been associated with, such as Bank Sepah and later Bank Melli, have been sanctioned by the UN security council and the international community since 2007. UN Security Council blacklisted Bank Sepah under resolution 1747 and placed restrictions on Melli under resolution 1803. According to a security expert, Avi Jorisch, Khavari violates the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations for working and providing financial services on behalf of a designated Canadian entity. Khavari is also in violation of Canada's Anti-Terrorism Act, along with Part II.1 of the Criminal Code (Section 83.05). Furthermore, under Section 83.05, Canadian authorities have the right to freeze Khavari's assets. However, as of 2016, Khavari has not been subjected to any asset freeze or investigation by the Canadian authorities.
In conclusion, Canada claims to be a champion of human rights and legislates The Magnitsky Act to fight corrupt officials plundering their nations' wealth. However, Canada is the free land of anyone who wants to steal money from any country and hide it in Canada. Canada is causing developing nations not to move toward developed nations because they are not in the country's origin and not allocated to their nations' industrialization.
Let's ask the Prime Minister of Canada what his plan about the pirates like Marjan Sheikholeslami Aleagha and Mahmoud Reza Khavari are?
Copyright © 2020 Peyman ADL DOUSTI HAGH
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