The son of Iran's former vice president received over $2 million in contracts from the Canadian government as he worked to further the regime's missile program and help it evade sanctions, Global News reported on Wednesday, citing obtained documents.
According to the report, 45-year-old Mohammad Reza Ghafouri Fard, son of Iranian politician and former vice president Hassan Ghafouri Fard, operated under the pseudonym Sal Ghafouri while living in Edmonton.
He received the government contracts while participating in an official Canadian trade mission to Latin America, Global News reported, with the intention of the funds being to help Fard “propose legislation” to Canada's government.
Fard is already the subject of a long-running investigation by the Canadian government into his suspected ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the report added.
Global News cited a recently declassified Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) report, which said Fard was “involved in the research and development of Iranian military technologies.”
Specifically, he assisted the regime in its attempts to "confront American aircraft" through the development of an anti-aircraft missile system and jamming system, having participated in a “covert procurement structure” designed to procure components for such projects.
Canada: Fard admitted to participating in activities beneficial to regime
The CSIS report cited by Global News further claimed that Fard “admitted to active participation in procurement activities that benefited the Iranian military, including the IRGC.”
CSIS noted in its report that Fard had traveled to Iran in 2015 to meet with members of Iran's Intelligence and Security Ministry on two separate occasions, during which he "provided details of his employment in Canada."
“During the second meeting, he was given detailed instructions and warnings, as they related to police or intelligence services approaching him while living in Canada,” CSIS was cited as saying.