CANADA — The Immigration and Refugee Board has ordered an Iranian national living in the Toronto area deported over his role in a criminal network that moved U.S. goods to Iran in violation of sanctions.

The order against Amin Yousefijam was issued in July but only became public this week through a 36-page decision obtained by Global News. The outlet reported Wednesday that Yousefijam remained in Canada and was considering his legal options.

A deportation order is not proof that removal has occurred. Global News said the Canada Border Services Agency did not answer its questions by deadline, and the report did not establish whether an appeal or other legal challenge had been filed.

Board relied on criminal-organization finding

According to Global News’s account of the decision, IRB member Christopher Marcinkiewicz found that Yousefijam knowingly arranged shipping for a network that obtained American electronics, motors and other goods and routed them through the United Arab Emirates to Iran.

The report says the board found his role important to the operation and issued the order because of membership in a criminal organization. It also says the board rejected the CBSA’s separate argument that he remained a danger to Canada’s security. That distinction matters: the removal order was not described as a finding that he posed a continuing security threat.

Yousefijam told Global News the matter was ongoing and declined to say whether he had appealed. TNC has not independently obtained the immigration decision or confirmed the current status of any challenge.

U.S. record confirms conviction

A U.S. Commerce Department order published in the Federal Register says Yousefijam was convicted in Michigan on November 17, 2021, of conspiring to export goods from the United States to Iran through the UAE without the required licences. The court sentenced him to time served, one year of supervised release and a $100 assessment.

The Commerce Department then denied his export privileges for seven years, through November 17, 2028. That administrative order confirms the conviction and penalty; it is separate from Canada’s immigration process.

The U.S. Justice Department’s 2021 indictment had identified Yousefijam, his brother and a third person in the procurement scheme. At the time, those allegations were charges rather than proof. The later conviction record resolves that distinction for Yousefijam’s conspiracy offence.

Global News reported that the IRB proceedings began in September 2024 and ended in February 2025. The July 2026 decision’s release this week is the new development.

Sources: Global News report, published October 21 at 5 a.m. Toronto time; U.S. Commerce Department export-denial order; U.S. Justice Department case announcement.

Editorial illustration of an immigration ruling and transnational shipping route; not a photograph of Yousefijam, the IRB or an actual shipment.