US Treasury sanctions eight Canadian money exchange firms over Iran ties

The United States Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on eight Canadian businesses for allegedly assisting in evading sanctions on Iran's government. The targeted entities are money services businesses located in British Columbia and Ontario, in cooperation with Fintrac, Canada's anti-money laundering watchdog. Several of the sanctioned companies have reportedly also been linked to Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder who is suspected of being a significant drug kingpin.

The U.S. Treasury claims that several of the sanctioned entities worked with Wedding to launder millions of dollars in drug proceeds through the transfer of digital assets before his arrest in January. In a statement, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent condemned Canada for potentially becoming a sanctuary for individuals who facilitate sanctions evasion for the Iranian regime and its proxies. He emphasized that the Treasury will pursue and disrupt the Iranian regime's financial channels globally.

Ryan Wedding was apprehended in Mexico in January and extradited to the United States to face drug trafficking, murder, and attempted murder charges. He is currently in federal custody awaiting trials scheduled for March and October next year. A Mexican judge has been detained for allegedly accepting a $2-million bribe to grant bail to Andrew Clark, a Canadian man linked to a violent international drug trafficking operation.

According to U.S. authorities, Wedding is believed to have ordered the murders of several individuals, including a witness who could have provided testimony against him in a 2024 narcotics case. Wedding had previously competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and is alleged to have transitioned into drug trafficking after the Games.

He was convicted in the United States for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and served time in prison from 2010. Following his release, he allegedly resumed drug trafficking under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, using cocaine transported from Colombia to the United States and Canada. In Canada, eight individuals were arrested in connection with the U.S. investigation into Wedding.