MONTREAL: Two Montrealer men accused of illegally selling railway equipment to Iran made a brief court appearance in Montreal today.
Court of Quebec Judge Denis Mondor ordered Michael Allen, 67, and Hugo Dreckmann, 75, to return to court on Feb. 19, 2016.
The two are facing charges of exporting without a permit and misrepresentation.
They are accused of illegally exporting American-made railway equipment to Iran, which is a violation of Canada’s Export and Import Permit Act and Customs Act.
Allen and Dreckmann are directors of Romic Marc Rail Inc., a company based in St-Lazare that sells locomotives and train parts.
Police allege the two were skirting economic sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran by selling rail equipment manufactured in the U.S. directly to Iran.
Investigators say they were passing it off as being manufactured in Canada — a violation of the Export and Import Permits Act.
An RCMP investigation began years ago, after the Canada Border Services Agency made a seizure in 2010.
RCMP believes that Allen and Dreckmann illegally exported nearly $10 million worth of railway parts, from bolts to locomotive engines, between 2007 and 2012.
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