U.S. Treasury sanctions Canadian firms connected to Ryan Wedding and Iran

The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on eight Canadian businesses for allegedly aiding in the evasion of sanctions against Iran's government, according to a recent announcement. These financial institutions, located primarily in Ontario and British Columbia, have been working in conjunction with Fintrac, Canada's anti-money laundering watchdog.

The U.S. Treasury revealed that several of these entities had also been involved with Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder who has been accused of being a drug kingpin. The sanctions were outlined in a news release by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who expressed concern over Canada potentially serving as a haven for illicit financial facilitators aiding the Iranian regime and its proxies.

The department alleged that Wedding used these services to launder millions of dollars in drug money before his arrest in January. Wedding, who was arrested in Mexico in January, faces drug trafficking, murder, and attempted murder charges and is currently in federal custody awaiting trials. The U.S. Department of Justice has also arrested a Mexican judge on bribery allegations related to the case.

Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, became involved in drug trafficking following his retirement from the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He was convicted in the U.S. for conspiracy to distribute cocaine in 2010. U.S. authorities claim that after his release from prison, he resumed drug trafficking under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, transporting cocaine from Colombia to the U.S. and Canada. Eight individuals were arrested in Canada as part of the U.S. investigation into Wedding.