Iranian bank used to fund Hezbollah sent millions of dollars to Canada, says intelligence report

OTTAWA — A Canadian intelligence report revealed that ONG Currency Exchange Inc. has been implicated in the transfer of millions of dollars to Canada on behalf of the Government of Iran in violation of sanctions imposed on the latter country.

ONG reportedly helped Tehran transfer funds from Bank Saderat, a government-controlled bank used to finance Lebanese Hezbollah.

The report also accused an Iranian investor, Alireza Onghaei, of posing a threat to Canadian National Security for his role in facilitating the transfers.

“In December 2019, the Canadian Intelligence Service mentioned that the funds were routed through Dubai in order to circumvent the sanctions,” said the news website Al-Hurra which had translated the report into Arabic.

According to the report, the amount of money that was transferred from Iran to Canada is still unknown, but it is estimated by Canadian intelligence to be in the millions.