3

in

t;iesenncre e
mnvqration Canath

Caznss2 aHI

inmiarasbn Canada

Registrar of Citizenship
360 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Omario
KIA ILl
August 15, 2014
NIt ..Alexander \ajv
ffo Mr. liadayt Nazanri
3.396 St. Clair Avenue West
loront.o, Ontario M6c: 1 A6
Dear Mr. \avilov
I am writing pursuant to subsection
26(3) of the Citizenship Rehulao
ons, SOR/93246.
This provision authorizes, me to can
cel a certiflcate of citizenship where
it is determined
that the person to whom it was issu
ed is not entitled to it.
The following is a summary of the
information on your (lie which leads
me to believe
that you are not entitled to the cert
ificate of citizenship number KI 160968
and athich
swnzests thnt your certificate should
be recalled and cancelled:
1, While von were born in Toront
o, Ontario. Canada, neiti.ser your
mother, Elena
Vavilova, nor your father. And
rey Bczrukov, were citizens of Canada
nor were
they lawfully admitted to Can
ada for permanent residence at the tim
e
of your
birth.
2. In 2010, your Parents were con
victed ofoconspiracy to act in the
United States as
a Ioe ign au.emt ot fat z oi vet
non. t Tin F
>1
tI
I
C
itt
of
ln\ tstt a ilioti cl
the United States recognized them
as being unofficial agents working as
il/ego/s
ha Ru.c%Id s I ar.og i DL
II n.pcc Se v cc the S1vhhci ilk ihn
t ]?afl4o/M (SVRj
CIC .rnamtamus that the SW?. de.p
ioved your parents to Canada specifi
cally for die
purpose of stealing the identitie
s of Canadians and budding, their
respective
legends prior 1.0 reiocanrw, to
the United States unde.r the stol
en Canadian
dentaties of frace Lee Ann Fol
ey and Donald Howard 1lcathtieid.
Bas
ed on this
nm
cin , at m 1 ju
c th at he tnt u o out hit th ot r
t
cot
y
a
u
c
mri
plo tc
or rcprese.ntat ivces of a foreign roe
rnment. Accordingly. pursuant to
paragrash
3Qha) of the Cirzenship Act, you
are not a Canadian and
were never entitled to
Cc tofu Ic I ( ant L r ,ttz
cnsh i u ur F 1 J6Q)6y

I have therefore decided to

cancel your certificate of Canadian
nitizenshi riurnoer
if 1160968. As of the date or ibis:
iette:r. C IC rto longer recognizes you
as a ctize.n 0
Canada arid, our svsten:s now refl
ect thai you no longer hold a legal stat
us in Canada.

Cai a(.1 :i

irc:vann1.te a1
.2
{rnrnatLon C-ariaaa

0ftizansnp and
immigraSon Canad
a

Pursuant to subsection 2.
]
application to the Federal (1) or the urnzenrhip.4cr, recently enacted, you
may make an
Court for leave and judici
al review of this decis
wish to obtarn legal advrc
ion. You may
e from counsel as so
on as possible, as an ap
i.n respect of a decision
olicatton for leave
must be made within
30 days after the de
communicated to you,
cision was first
Stncerely.
-

/r

;)

Registrar of Citizenship

Cai a(.1 a

REPORT TO THE RECISTRA R

RECALL OF CITIZENSHIP CERTIFICAT
E
N:kIVIE: VAVILOV,
Alexander Phtlip Anthony
DOD : (13/06/1994
COB: Canada
CITIZENShIP: Russian

CASE ID: 5508440

FILE ID :4325415
CCI : 8949-7842
OFF1CEIJIiIUSDICTION: CMIII

ISSUE

II his refers to a certificate of citizenship that was

issued to Alexander Philip Anthony Vavi
iov
(born Foley) on January 21, 2013, rursu
ant to subsection 3(l).a) of the Citizenship Act.
Vs tp
tcation as brined in rroi as Mi \ ai1o
3
; s paRats acrt
ri ii
itph te I r
representatives of a foreign government (the
Russian Federation) during the time they resid
ed in
Canada, including at the time of Mr. Vaviiovs
birth in Toronto. Ontario on June 3, 1994
. A.s
such, Mr. \
avilov was not entitled to receive a citiz
1
enship certificate pursuant to paragraph
3(21(a) of the Citizenship Act. It is therefore
recommended that the Registrar of Citizensh
ip
pursue recall cdl Mr. Vavilons cenificate of
citizenship Ki 160968, pursuant to subsectio
n 26(1)
of the Citizenshit, Regrilations.
BACKGROUND iNFORMATION
i)ate
1 03 01 lt
1 8 U 79 0

09107120 10
Iii

Oi

2101

1..

09/08/7 01 2
17/0812012

Mr Vafo s oru n forouw Untnno

Lkna \ a dos a md 4.ndi c.y 13c,,rukov, Mt V
as lbs s p cOtS die i1onit s nIt
I U otht iS
s s o in t,onsur us o act n th Urn te I S
a es as a toni tin LIPC itt
of a lore i ;o nount
he I cLr I But u of Ii cs 1 toon of tht.
United
States recoanizes Us. Vavilova and Mr. E3ez
rukov as being unof ieud agents, or
spies, won. ing fbr Rus.stas
Foreign intelligence Service, the Siuzhbcz Vnes
hney
Raziedki ISVR).
The United States and Russia. engage in a
spy swap at an. airport in Vienna.
Ms \1 5 to a am Sfj 9e, uAo icturiwd to
1 he ( mon iC (ir. a if Russ it Sso Ic)
M
I
1
aF
B is uc Mr s i tOns a
Russian birth certificate.
\I ni
o spnlrs lOt 1 ( mu ii
t
at s p nun at lit. C in idi it I
n hssss in
\loscov i
iii vl il
t n ci i
W
Mr. Vavilov applies for a study permit in Ottu
nd (iri.iversi.td du Flnyre in France
Ii s ouk sot r 111 )hta neil th s toO e r at
U \ i dos
dii ucitlon
lot i ( ui tdiai stint p to i Ic
ii aid
lpliII
I 5t9 .OItL out.
1
in a si S 20hz) tilIow a the ius i 000
4 tiLt I I S
itseoverv o SeeurItV lookouts ciilteie0. in FOS
S under a duplicate [Cl (652 0

1L(

LI
[
31108:2012

09/10/2012

e 01/2013

L.14/.._
_
0212013
Li/06/2013

21/06/2013

i
I
I
I
I
I
II
ii

18/07/2013
19/07/2013

31/07/2013
08/08/2013
08/08/2013

08/10/2013

511

13

II

II

353)!1 ooeurrmidea IcI

rt nd nO) I LIOh en \4i \a
0
parems including concerns over
the identity and. citizenship of eac
h family I
Mr. \
avi]ov is interviewed
7
by a Canada Border Services Agency
liaison olficer
in Moscow. Russia. During this intervie
w, Mr. Vavilov states that he
did not
apply for a copy of his Russian birth
certifi0ate and was also not aware
of why
the document was. issued by the Russian
Consulate in Sydney, Australia,
An application fhr a .3(1)(a) certific
ate of citizenshi (application for
proof of
citizenship) is tiled on behalf of Mr.
Vavilov by the Chaudhary Law
Office.
located in Toronto, Ontario.
CrC yune dPO csfr Vatilo
C (a)
piicau,r red s>ueq
certificate of eftizenship number
K 1160968. The certificate is mai
led to the
Chaudh9f
Mr. Vavilov applies for a Canadia
n passport out of Buenos Aires.
Argentina.
He presents Passport Canada his Can
adian certificate of citizenship,
a longform Canadian birth certificate (co
mplete with hand written amendm
ents
to his
name from Foley to Vavilov), and
a ten-year Russian passport issu
ed to him
in Aunust 2012.
Mr. Vaviiov files an application for
mandanns h the Federal Court req
ucstiflt
that Passport Canada either issue
him a Canadian passport or disc
lose the
reasons as to why his application is
on hold.
The mandamus is settled out of court
following Passport Canadas agr
eement to
issue. Mr. \avilov was slated to pick
up his Canadian Passport in Buenos
Aires
on 19/07/2013.
Passport Canada decides not to issu
e to issue the passport following
concerns
I, about his entitl einent to Canadia
n Ci:U ZCflSI1jP.
CIC sends Mr. Vaviiov a procedura
l fairness letter inibuming him that
that he
has thirty (30) days from the date of
receipt to pros-ide submissions to
CIC
as to
why his certificate of citizenship sho
uld not be recalled on the ground
s o
s3(2)(a.) of the Cinzciisflp ,dct.
Mr. Vavi.lovs legal representative Ma
x Chaudhar requests an additional
sixty
(60) day extension fbr submission of
documents.
The Reristrar of Citizenship grants
Mr. Vaviiov the sixty (60) day
extension.
The amended deadline was SCI for
October 15, 2013.
Max. Chaudhary files an A.TIP req
uest .1i.>r Mr. Vavilovs electronic
citizenship
file. The request is finalized and
the information is sent to Mr. Cha
udhary s
aILenn000nSeptember6)2013
i\4r. Vaviiovs flew counsel, Fla
dayr Nazanu from Jaek.man Naz
ami and
Associates, files an ATIP request for
CICs electronic cit.enhip file
and the.
physical citizenshi.p/natutai rati
on file in Ivir. Vavilovs brotlte
r Iimothy
..

Mm. Nazarni sends 0/it a letter req

uesting to have Mr. Vavilovs tile
with his
brothers open application Or a pro
et 01 C107,eI1Sliil) certtiC.ate. The
lett
er also
reouests a second sixty (61)) day extensio
n tbr sulrnsmon or docrnrents.
Mr. Nazanu sends a second letter req
uesting, once :Oor that the two
casc he
uTfld mr i
cot I
(0 i
Li ter I
_r t
...

..

10

201

1s i0!20i3
Th
04/12/2013
-

22/01/2014

020l4

18/03/2014

01/1)420 4

09/04/2014

I 8/04/20 14
*

_,

lb R stt r o ( tienship ci
s
ut
Vavilovs counsel confliTning that
dC has ir.ed butli cases and
that th.e
ded deadline will he sent one
c both AiJP requests have bee
n
completed
by did-Ni-TO ATIP.
CIC-N.F1Q ATIP finalize the
ATIP request concerning limoth
y Vavilovs
tiectionic c tie chw li
c Ibe inrorrnu ci s cn io
t
M
Naz
urn
CIC-NHQ AfiP finalizes the
AilP request concerning Thrioth
v Vavjlovs
JIcl cOI7tl n
ahiiua lilt I he mforn v
a a tflt to ivir \uirrn
CIC-NHQ ATIP finalizes the AT
IP request concerning AJexander
Vavilovs
electronic and physical oinzensiiip
/nat.uraiiz.ation file, The i.ntbrmatio
n is sent to
Mr. Nazami.
Folloudng receipt of the AT disc
losure package. Mr. Nazami sen
ds a lener to.
dIR referencing a note entered
by a Prograr.n Support Officer at CPC
-Sydney in.
March 2012 (before the file was
transferred to CMJ3). The- note stat
es that dId
should seek a Foreign Affairs Protoco
l vcrifcation from DFATD to
ascertain if
Messers Vavi]o-v parents had diplom
atic status in Canada at the tim
e of their i
sons births. Mr. Nazarnis letter req
uests a cony of this verification.
diR responds to counsel b con
firming that the verification was
never sought
because Messers Vavilovs par
ents were employed in Canada
by
a fbrejgn
I government without diplomatic, consular or offi
cial
stat
us.
In
an
act of good
faith, CIC extends the deadline
for submission an additional thir
ty days. The
amended deadline is set for April 18,
2014.
Mr. Nazanti writes a letter to CIR
questioning the decision not to see
k a Foreign
Aflhirs Protocol verification. The lett
er charges that the author of the
March 18,
201 4 letter to counsel should
recuse themselves from tmd
ertak.ing any I
investigative or decision-making
roles with regards to this case due
to their
pre-judgement of the interpretati
on and appticct.ion of s.
3(2Xa of the
Cit izenship Act.
CER responds to counsel by sirnpI.y
confirming that a Foreign Affairs
Protocol
was never sought as CIC does not
believe that Messers Vailov s
par
ents ever
held diplomatic, consular or offi
cial status in Canada.. dIR also
reaffirms that
the deadhne for submission is Apr
il 18,2014.
C1.R. receives submissions from cou
nsel relating to odginal proced
ural fairness
letter dated July 19,2013

_.

..

(Ia

1 1

LF:CLSLA1IVE FRAMEWOR
K
Mr. Vaviicw is not entitled to Ca
nadian. citizenship becaus
e he was born in Canada
employed by or representatives
to parents
of a foreign govermnen
t
at
the time of his birth,
paragraph 3(21(a) of the Citizensh
pursuant to
fo Act. His par

ents were not lawPaliy adm

neither are nor has ever held per
itted into Canada and
manent resident status in Ca
nada or Canadian citizenshi
relevant sections of the Citizensh
p. The
ip Act substantiatmg tht
s Reports recomrrendation
Mr. Vaviiovs certificate of cita
to recall
zenship are the following:
Subsection 3(1) of the Citizensh
ip Act reads (in part) that:
311)

Persons Who are (12tizens

Subject to this act, a person
is a ClitZCfl {i
(a) the person was horn in
Canada a/lee I
ehruczry 14 1977;
7

Subsection 3(2) of the Citize

nship Act reads (in part)
that:
312)

Not Applicable to Children

UI Foreign Diplomats, etc. Par
agraph (1pv) does
ap (1) 7 1
it.rco
ta he m 0, r
s b:i jO rica net tci I
ian/idly ad,nitred to Canad
1 L. ZC 71 07
a for permanent residence and
either ofhi.s parents were:
(a) a diplomatic or consul
ar officer or other rejiresen
tanve or employee fF1
Canada ofa foreign govern
ment fempitasis addedj;
tOli Ce in tnt Wfl Cc
J xr.son eIcae Ito op I t,Thtt7I 9Ic
ci an flit r
ppic itt. cil 1 mcd 0
svtt a Zt d t yac r cc hc
Sainons or WI officer or
L mc
employee in Canada of ani
oth
er
int
orgamsatton to who
ern
atio
nal
m they are granted, by
or under any Act of Parliament,
diplomatic privileges and
immunities certified liv the
Minister 01 Joreigi
A airs to be equivalent to tho
se granted to a penoti or
persons ivferred to
zn paragraph tip

ISO thu Cr a 1 p ( izcy3 p

Itt 94 , as tn
idul tO Iflu nile cp rhu v
excepnon csiuently [bo
anon cit flit
nd in subsection 3(2)
at
the
Ciiirenship Act, Under
Iegtslanon, this e:wej.ction
the previous
read as follow
JT

s:

Sf3) Subsection (I) does

not apply to a person if at
the WILe of that person s birt
responsrble parent
h,, his
(a) :s an alien who has not
ceen iaciqidiv admitted to
Canada for permanent
restdence; intl
(1,) is

ccc

1 r s,n

co

d
ign go

ii

flu Ii

imca-

at

c c-

n Ic

tci

UI

QI

L ji t

SC/fl Icli

I an i rcoc of a ,n c 1 5/c,
c cl/Ic it it n
a 7c cj 1
ofa/?nvign di iomaN: rn/s.c
ion or consulate in t .%cnot
ta;
ftc
cay
K 0

tif

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.
.

nrmr

1
S
o
ui,
1
ec
i
i

35U ) oftbe interp

retation ,Ic

3jI1)

t reaLls that:

Jjj eve?]? eiacrme;;

s,
tJzPi111cst;c or CO
fl,StSICZ?

aijicer

triclucks Q??
ImOi2SSCJCUjr, enV
d cttirGS, counsel
oy, n?tnisret,
lor. secretary cutoc
consul, consular r2g
he
,
consulgeneraL canc
L13t. acting
til. pro
co
nsular gewral, actin
c)
in if agn
g k: consul, actin
ip comms
s
g
ci
I
commissioner, and
n ii deL a
1 aci iS,
acting pcnnaneid de
?
2
I
75/
i
legate

cIi(ng4

The previous iteration

of the exception of
right to Canadian
Canada in the Canadi
citizenship to pers
an Citizenship Ac
ons born in
t, 1947 is. more na
subsection 3(2) of
rro
w than the iteratio
the current Citizen
n found in
sh
ip
representadve and
Act as the earlier
employee to an
provisions link th
o.
e terms
ffcial and/or recogn
directly, to a diplomat
ized accreditation
ic mission. The way
or, even more
wntten. however, di
in which subsection
fferentiates diplom
3(2) of the Citirenvh
ip Act is
atic or consular of
employees of a fore
ficers front rep
ign government. Th
re
se
nt
e
at
de
ives or
finition of diplomat
in subsection 35(1) of
ic or consular offic
the interpretation A
er
s, found
ct. clearly associates
official and/or reco
these individuals po
gnized accreditatio
ns or posts in dipl
sitions with
subsection 3(2)(a)
omatic missions. Co
also makes refere
nsidering that
nce to representat
government, but do
ives or employee
es not link the repr
s
of a foreign
es
en
ta
tiv
of a foreign diplom
es or employees to a
atic mission or co
tta
ch
ed
m
or
in the service
ns
ulate in Canada
provisioni. it is reas
(as did the earlier ve
onable to maintain
rsion of the
that this provision
included in the definiti
intends to encompass
on of diplomatic an
i.ndividua.is not
d consular staff
It is i utcd that to da
te tren is ul ca
s n & dii g V
Act. the jurisprud
h p< rsgi aph a2 ;( -i of
ence that does exist
;hc ( :tzcn.sJ
only relates to indi
dipl.oraatic status
;
viduals whose pare
in Canada at the tim
nts maintained
e of their birth)
ji a ihdt s a
It is noted that the po
pla\ in ibis ac i
rtion of paragraph
ota.., c rec.r u
government) ass
c n;
not yet been analys
nplo
n Canau i. of a tot
ed by the Courts.
eisa
ANALYSIS OF CA
SE DVJA1LS

1.

Neither of his pare

nts was a citizen
or Iawfnllv admitt
residence
ed to Canada :o
r pennanent
Elena Vavilova anti
Andrev Bear okay
No stat us in Canada
The chcnt s co unse
l claims that at the
time of Mr. Vavilov
tlezrulco< (the parent
s birth., Elena Vavilo
s of Alexander Vav
va and Audrey
iiov) ;v rc. Canadian
Ms. Vasilova and M
citizens, ide maintai
r. l3ezruicov obtained
ns
that alfnouith
Canadian citizenship
fracoulent means,
by misrepresentation
their commission
or by other
of fraud does not im
Canadian citizensh
pact Mr. Vavilov s
ip.
entitlement to

..ItdA.un;/i p.

See:

Canedu (Mister of[

<-retgn

ii

Ft 204

c,din

ert Sewn listens. ,

4
M
n
ero

rr

4//Mrs and /n(emnan

onoe ?va/ei
(in
Sn,

OSHt

of ire:

end Law,

2007 Ft 559: Lee v

Caneclo
1

Cnnx

ii

_,

-.

13

dc mairLtains tlwa this reasoning is flaw

ed fi).I several reasons. First. extensive searc
hes in (J(s
systems inditte that zieither have any
irnmigrnW>n or citizenship history in Cana
da
were conducted Under their real nam
(searches
es and their alhises). Neither individual has
e or applied [Or
or been granted permaflent resident stat
us in Canada or Canadian citizenship
i.vts. Vavilow. and
Assuc(I
i3ezaiko. Jid not obtain citizenship by
fraud, misreprcsefltation or by
concealing material circumstances beca
use neither individual has everheld statu
s in Canada..

rhe ciients counsel also indicates

On page 7 of the ?viemorandum
of Pam and Law that
snhsection 4(2) ofthe Canadian Passpo
rt Order stipulates that Canadian passpo
rts shall only he
issued to Canadian chizens. Althou
gh Ms. Vavilova and Mr. Bezrukov were
issue
d Canadian
passports, CJC recognizes that Pass
port Canada issued those passports to Mr.
Vavilovs parents.
because both provided fraudulent doc
uments indicating that they were Canadia
n-horn citizens.
The issuance of a Canadian pass
port, howevei; neither confinns nor
conf
ers Canadian
citizenship. As such, counsels arg
ument that the appropriate remedy against
Mr. Vavilov s
parents misrepresentation is revocatio
n, pursuant to subsection 100) of the
Citizenship Act, is
incorreci because citizenship was nev
er granted to his parents.

are_Donald Howard HeathfIeld and

Traciv Lee Ann Foley?

On June 27, 2010, the U.S. Federal Bur

eau of Investigation (FBI) multi-year inv
estigation caine
to a close with the arrest of Andrey
Bezrukov (aLa Donald Howard Heathfi
eld)
Elena Vavilova
,
(aLa Tracey Lee Ann Foley) and eigh
t other individuals suspected of bein
g SVR operatives on
longterm deep cover assignments
across the United States(( The U.S. Dis
trict Court for the
Southern District of New York charged
each with. conspiracy to act a.surilawft
il agents of a
foreign government and nine of these
individuals (including Mr. Elezruk.ov and
Ms.
Vavilova)
with conspiracy to commit .tnoney laun
dering.
On July 8, 2010, all ten defendants
plead guilty to conspiring to serve as: unl
awful agents of the
Russian Federation within the Unit
ed States before Judge Kimba M. Woo
d, As part of a
negotiated, plea agreement, all ten def
endants were required to reveal their true
identities to the
court and i.o surrender certain nets
trained or acquired throua,h criminal mean
s. i)eibnd.ants
f_to aL Hovaid [Iuathfltlcl rd
t
.1 rac. Lee Ann F olei admttttd
the
ncte
Ruc
san citizen
\nJ Bczrukov and ;: cue \ avilo\a
age its 01 he Russian lee entuon On tub
United States and the Russian Fed
9 2010 the
eration engaged in a spy swap from
an airport in Vienna,
Austria. On this date, the custody of
all ten delb:tdants was trarisierred to
the Russian Federation.
in exchange, the Russian Federation
agreed to the release and transfer
of four ii.id.ividu.ais
incarcerated, in Russia fir allegedly wor
king with or :fbr Western intelligenc
e agencies.
Accorung to Maria L. R.icci, Special
Agent with the 1-El. Mr. 13ev ukov ciai
xnd to he Donald
I lo a rd I leaithtidi a et
/ d I.
( ,tue tin in C uaada I
h
1131
has
in iennmt d
in
that Mr. l3ezruhov claims are false. On
or about January 23, 2001, U.S. law enfb
reemnent officials
oaneo access to a safety denosit box that
Ms. Vavilova arid
i3ezrukov had registered in the
names of their respective ..j.cioe-5, The
box contained a copy of a Canadian birth
certificate made

Ottke of

or,

20 !l

Public Aifaira. Ten Russian Agems Plea

d Guilt and Are to Be .R.erno\ed from
iNc I rtited Snares, US
ucu (Ink 05 ztI{n I
n. 0
fli
0 a
S
aC S 5d 10 _I

14

HI the name o f)cna]d iIo\va 1

d Heaithuieid. The 1-131 cross-crcrcnccd the name Oil the birth
cert.ificaw with the infortyjaj(n contained in a staiern..e.qt of death provided by Ca.utii.iai
uthoi ILles I
til JC
d 11 iJ i IL tLj elc I)oln in Ontallo on
1
Jit Lc1i J)ona
Febmary 4. 1962, ased away as an iui.nt in Burlington. ()nu-irio on March 24. 1 962
-

[<iou s report to the IJS I)istrict Court for the Soutieru District of New York describes
Ms \a ilo; a CtL md o b. Troc 1 cc Ai n 1 oe
ow
I
r u Iit U S cttiztn iorp in
lOit real Can idi 1 m 1 3l he sr had arad Imu t that U \ a do a has rots eprc_erti
her identity to American authorities as the real Tracey Lee Ann Foley, horn in Montreal, Quebec
on September 14, 1962, passed away as an infant in Heapstead. Quebec on October 31. 1962.
The safety deposit box aiso contained a series o.f photographic ne atives of Tracey Lee Ann
Foley in her early twenties Although the name of the printing company had been removed from
most of the negatives, investigators eonflnned that one of the negatives read TACMA, a
former Soviet flInt company. Despite having valid Canadian and American passports.
Ms. Vavilova was found to have travelled on a fraudulent British passport Ms. Ricci maintains
was provided to Ms. Vavilova by her empioye the SVR.
7 Ms. Vavilova travelled on fraudulent
passports instead of her U.S. or Canadian passports to ensure that neither of these documents
made record of her trips to Moscow (which is. consistent with the fact that illegals seek to
mantatn distance from Moscow to avoid chances of deteetion.
?vis.

For fne foregoing reasons, it is maintained that Elena \

avilova and Andrey Bezruicov were never
t
Ccnadtan uttt.e i, ncr were
fqfl_ nat ted to Canid fri pcarranen nnIoenec I no
hs been eonfirmd that th
4 isa mmd Pruojient it ....nt er a Ut t,ald lion ard Fitathfnjd ad
Traccv Lee Ann Foley and were not. in Canada legally at the time their son Alexander was born..
Canadian authorities believe that Ms. Vavilova and Mr. Bczrukov ernered Canada surreptitiousl
artd illegally in the late l9SOs or early I 990s (the exact date of entry remains unkuowia to
tntni.gration authorities).
1. Either of his parents was [...j a
government

[,JJ representative or employee in Canada of.a foreign

4fiS1tflfrggfl

The Canadian Security intelligence bstabhsnment (CS IS) defines an illegal asan eiripioyee of
a foreign intelligence, service who is deployed abroad and operates covertly mtdcr an assnined
identity specifically for the purpose of collecting intelligence at the behest of his/her employer,
Directorate 5 wi thin the Russian Federation U S/itch/ta incs/mei Razvedlci (SVR;, the Foreiirn

CorriaNt Aaa,y,]-Nasscr

thU.

Satih cu. General Vapor. [anal Ca nrsclain

Manatee [a/ice

Mar

U. Rice i, 3.< eport 11w the U.S. t)istriei Court for the Southern Ucstrtct
el C
to,
,
it(b
i
a ,ls it ,,SS t Oo
t,.e... an a,
[hiLl,, 18

1
r

n3j
,

tel,

, lIctttVi\,iJt
I

i2I)I7 Thi

,,j

t,teC

0 t

/;r

0 J.[ivicir,r,, 3

New V ark, hclarat Bureau of

I
I
a, ,

ra

Clt,

I.
13
inLe1litCI1Ce

Service uomponen.t of t he Russai 1.nte1iiL4e1ic Se;vices

RIS). is

responsible %ir
(
the operational control. tannin. documentation, and financi
ntt of Russias iIIe)zaIs.
Uorroborated open-source information indicates that the SVR
orovides illeguls with extensive
training prier to their relncatt.on. In a report on its investigation mto
the SVR spy network in the
Untted Stares (which included sections on the specific activttes conduc
urd by Ms. Vavilova and

Mr. l3ezrokov\ the P131 maintains that SVR. training includes:

foreign languages; agenttoagent
conirnunications; shortwave radio operation; invisible
writing; the nyc of codes (including
encryption); the creation and use of a cover profess
ion; counter-surveillance measures;
concealment and destruction of equipment and materials used
in connection with their work as
and the avoidance oidetection durine their work as aeras.tO
agents;
Upon
corn pletion of these -ainintt programs, the SVR provrdes
iilegcz/s with Ihise identities
known

as iegends CSIS recognizes that these legends or false biogra

phies may he entirely
fabricated (i.e: based on a tictitiotis name and fraudulent docum
ents) or stolen front hymn or
deceased individuals. These new identities are complex and elabora
te and can ofien take years
for the agents to assume as their own. When a legend is deemed sufflci
entiy convincing, it is
used as the agents primary identity and, ultimately, becomes indist
inguishable from {his] real
4
life.
The crafting of a solid legend may involve the short-term establi
shment in a host cour,try
prior to arrival hr the target country (the intended target of S\iR
intelligence collection). Time
spent in a host country. as CSIS maintains, is used to build art identit
y (i.e.: steal or crc-ate an
identity. learn a language; burld a history and/or create linkages to a
city or country to allow for
deeper cover) that can be used in the target country The
P131 has also found that i//egctls will
pursue degrees in the educational institutions in target countries,
obtain employment, and loin
orofessional associations in order to render an illegals legend more
credible and convincing to
his or her colleagues, neighbours, and friends.
Alexander Kouzminov, a former intelligence
operative with the SVRs Directorate S who has since defecte
d from the SVR, adds to this
_NcrptWP In marrtarrLtn that tl e S\ R is Ltoni n nt_me
dh gab for worl in t uget
countries br a period normally of 15-20 years.
Existing literattue ott the /llegnls program eonttrms th.at covertly deploy
ed intelligence agents
oerate in host and target countries without the benefit of officia
status
lo prevent
exposure of the agents deer) cover identity, the a tent limits interac
tions wtth his/her native.

>7

/eaerai Court in the tinner cytne Person Afir trios)fl ?t7/

ii

be Paul it?llicun fjcunri ,iotemc>t Su.cit.; centric

>.(

nt t_Jn >0,1>

uP, u

it cci, Report 13r the U.S. District Critic; for the Southern Distric: Net>
of
turk
It?>
)

\IIII

c 0>
on jk fea
tod
t
ft,ec
et
1 >

0,1

urn r I
c

\uoc

Slat-ic Mt/nary Srt,lie.c 20, no. 4 tWinter 2007): 519-558

N IL

,o 10,

(_cof,

Ii

07

i>

the ifS, D>strici Coan fur the 5,;>titrri District of New Yors
Flags, Ethnic Fiosr,Ls, arid Doy N, nfl/Onto: l.iterary Review (Marcit 31. 2007,
nuu:ncal treviow com:rfPnls:etioc ethnir-hotribs-aud-d
ay-:o (accessed May 20. 2014)
I c
B

I
0 ,iZtO,,> 101, 5 Thi
r
0
K

Eject, Report fOr

Pool Cnmsrock,

Faife

Sr

siate*s (if1]Ci
al rereScntatives sta
unacci in tte hogL or ntr
hold. azw frm or level of
gel countries. :6 As cuch. iJk
diplomatic or consular
coL nover
si rims (ho.nce thcn. being Know
Past Instances of lllecil.c On
n
as
diegnJs)
eratino in Crwada
,

Is has o uk n Q/nu1 I i_s

ac Spc ci Qc
azmm of ik 5o1ft I 0 20
intelligence Services in the
JJZ .L WI JOH 1
West. Kouzaninoy com
c0
ments specifically about the
in Canada. For the SVR. Ie
SV.Rs activities
writes Canada is an attr
active country as an i/Ic
ettizenshp of any counny
go! who has the
in the British Commonweal
th [findsj it is easier to cro
nassoort controls, to move
ss borders and
around the world, and
operate in nianv 1
e,sui no the du agcrib
co
un
tri
es
.
For the SVR.
c b_s eo-ne naceaa 7t
I ( adtens or assuan Ce
can acquire. the documents tha
nad
iar
tthrames auG
t come along with such
a privileged status (i.e.: bir
certificates of citizenship;
th certificates;
Canadian passports or tra
vel documents) is conducive
and credibility of their deploy
to the mobility
ed acents.
The .SVR has deployed ope
ratives to Canada in the
past. In May 1996, the So
Canada, l-lerbert Gray, and
licitor General of
the Minister of Citizensh
ip and Immigration, Lucie
signed security certificates
nnc Rnhil.lard,
detaining Dmirry Vladimiro
vich Olshevskiy (aka Ian
Lambert) and Yeleaa Borisn
Mackenzie
ovaa (aka Laurie Cathe
rine Mary Lamberfi. Mr.
Ms. Borisnovna had stolen
Olshevskiy and
the identities of deceased
Canadian infants to build
rtnds Again in 200h
their Canadian
M
c
3
e
n
r 0 ikouc Safer Sto
ek,sclJ Ika and 5
and intmigrarion, Monte
Iita 45 4)1 (Ltiicnshtp
Soiberg, signed a security
certificate detaining another
suspected b CSIS of bei
Russian citizen
ng an operative of the SV
R. This individual had
&audtslent Canadian identity
also assumed
under the name Paul Willia
m Harnpek At the time,
clarified that be did not fee
Minister Day
l that [Mr. Ha.nweis] int
entions were necessarily aga
targets. It is instead bel
ins
t Canadian
ieved that the SVR intend
ed to use Mr. Hampels Canad
use against targets in the Ba
ian
lecnd for
lkans.
Stdphane Lefehvre, author
of the 2007 article Ru
ssian intcIligence Activities
Latest Case 1
an Illegal. maintains tha
to Canada: Th
e
t the SVR continues to
requirements An agent
1
us
e
Ca
nad
a
for
its operational
with a Canadian legend
, Lefebvre writes, opens
the cultivation oteontac
doors and facilitates
ts in. the countries ohnteres
t tt) the 2
SVR.
2

Artfiu. lfinilovaandAndreyBeztrthov
Womkingrthg,,,(VR
in Canada
i,ufebvre. Russian Intellig
ence Acrivhies in Canada
Clec Barn. tllegais Net
work

list),

ci

coci>41 101

Famed in tore of Russian Sm

inr. The j\:cw losS
11
iLl rp,.
inl
t
p s
t(1cc.

limes (June :30, 2010),

Chodakieaicz, Dr. Chodak
,..ui*,1 I
iewicr_ 1 on FusiOn
._1l1 w scLJn
s, Sieencrs of influence, .Ins
0 (lsOc
Ott
:itcae of WO
c
,,c

..

influence tacuessed ivta

v 14,20142
4cth
runBl tilt c

ctjro,t

cci inc

r rh

rld P::ulitic (July

tpcrs cJ

sins 4

rw
cnLl
Novemher 28. 2006), AS
t
F Pu,
.
\,snn F
F.uclic Ss.tOsy M ulster Day
said us ,uue!c We do St
feel that his intentions were
t:irceu. fueled by: Alex Dob
c,ecessarile 5451051 (.ana
rona, Spy Suasceot in Nioseo
uu,
w, Lawyer Says, 7
LJtCI La
e (lobe and .1 fail triec,en
6
St1ciO
II
chet 27,
4
,
iaccused HF 24, 2014)
ceow it
Dobrosa. Spy Suspect in lrio
cccw. i.,awuer Says

Le[ebv:c. F cssarc Jns

dflcgence Activities in

Bit.

Canada. 055

17

On ti-ic balauice of p robabii Ucs,

i is sLbriucd Lil1t XIs.
Vavilova and Nh. Bezrulccv
deployed to Carada. a iR)st cou
were
iary. spccitIcaflv fbr the
task: of aeaiiig he identitie
Ca:iaclian:; arid building their respeeL
s of
i ye Canadian 1e!eIids prior
To relocating to the United Sta
the target cotmtrY as Canadians.
tes,
Although Mr. Vavilovs counsel
recognizes that Ms. \avilova
and Mr. l3ezruk.ov were wo
as inteili enec operatives for the SV
rking
R in the united States, he den
ies that Mr. Vavilovs ac
were working br the SVR whe
.nts
n they resided in Canada.
To substantiate tilts potiti.
maintains that Ms. Vavilova ard
cou
nsel
Mr. Bezrukov came tc Ca
nadat. work and study.
Memorandum of Fact and Law
The
prepared by counsel points
to Ms. Vavi.bovas enrollment
courses at the Computer Institute
in
of Canada amt her employmen
t at various jobs eoIng
and accounting. Submissions
pay
roll
farther tndicate that Mr. i3ez
rukov owned his own bus
Diapers Direct. Inc., and
iness,
graduated from York University
with a Bachelors degree
International Economies in i 995
in
(a fact confirmed 1w York Unive
rsir following Mr. Be
20l0 2
arrest
4
).
irukovs
k

dC does not dispute the veracit

y of these claims. That said
, this report has outlined how
deliberate pursuit of education
the
and employment in

host or target countries is cen

establishment of a convincing
tral to the
legend. Open-source informa
tion indicates that the SVR
Mr. Bezrukov with collecting int
tasked
elligence front 12.5. officials
on topics related to U.S. fore
policy on a variety of topics rela
ign
ted to Americas posidon on Cen
tral Asia. Russia, and a var
of national security issues (inclu
iety
ding the nnciear nonprolifera
tion, the t.S. position on Iran
nuclear weapons program, and
s
the U.S. foreign policy objectives
itt 2
Aibanis
Mr. Be.z.rukovs objectives, it
5
tnn
).
Con
sid.
erirhg
is reasonable to believe that his
pursuit of undergraduate (i.e
Bachelor degree at York iniver
.:
sir in loronio. Canada) and
graduate degrees in the tiebds
knernutional bt.rsiness and pub
ol
lic adrrunistration both enl.tauc
e the strength of his 2
legend,

Maria F. Ricci, FBI Special

Agent. Wrote in her report
for the U.S District Court
Southern District of New
for the
York that the SV.R. is known
to arrange for their agents
compensated clandestinely for
to be
their work,tS Counsel, howeve
r, maintains that I\4s. Vav
and isir. l3ezrukov were not
iluva
in contact with or renmnerated
by Rttss ian authorities while
resided in Canada. In keeping
they
with CICs position that Ms
. Vavilova and Mr. Bezrukov
as intelligence operatives for
worked
tite SVR since they departed
from the Russian Federation.,
UK has
.

-u Me
morandum cf Fact and Law, 2
York University. Rc,vds Show
Aih-,se.d gc;j Spy Gradua
ted
uip
York, Y Ale Newt (July
Ii sc
ul ,cem I
05. 20i 0),
,l
o
2014)
vito Icairtm
NK

1
(
,tilr,4ic
I
Stephane Le fevore and I Thtiv
don coos, 1 he
Rus
sian
s
it).
11: Au Inc onse4 tout tat AdveiltUl ,s
oow,.v 1
o

(
,I
w
f
re?
/f
))
)ui,rns7joie1
ue

i
r

c;
4

t)c 2l. no. (:201

.454
Joe.
I 1Iot IL I
t I
01 1,
CO I T
&
at
moved to Paris, france so
I
vlr it / oF
I
that he iass pors:ie a Mas
a UI
t

ter:,

:n Business Anninisrrauon
pouts 51 cha.usses. Mr. Rezn,ko
from the. Rcc[e natiortaic ice
v rehieatad to the United
5 :r: LOS in I 099 and turehed
Ad;n!nlrauOn tu the John F. Kcu
in a lvi asters Ir, Vat In:
nede School o unverumeu
t at liarvaid 2 t
Cc 110
iiJtiLV in Srstou
F nd t tpJ
, stassaihusseIc. The
i
1 ,

v
I J , , 14
Poneojs, [Lu f4.ut.s:ans It).,
.1 5
(ISI
1
1
Cf t
, I I : :s Iue
nd
2,

tvi

tuo

ouse000utia I Advc,.ture,

or rlcL S

18

reasonable cuow tds to believe that both indiv

idual s roci ved ordcrs and vere coinpLti
Sdt tL
financiall.y supported by t:rie svR from the mom
ent tJwy an ived on (:aadiai Soil.

vtr. Vaviitc;vs oounsei continues on to refut

e the applicability of paragraph 3(2)(a)
of the
Act as an exception to paragraph 3( I )(a)
of the Citizenship Act. Counsel arguc 5 that
the 3(2) exception does nol apply to Mr. Vav
iiovs case thr two reasons. First, counsel
a&tain
maintains that i\(is Vavilova and Mr. Bezr
ukov were Canadian citizens at the time
of their
childrens. births. in certain sections
of their Meniorandutn, counsel even argu
es that
Ms. Vavilova ani Mr. f3ezrukov coninue to
hold Canadian citizenship because the Gcw
erno
r in
tDouncil has never revoked freir citizensh
ip The submic,sions prepared by counsel
make
extensive references to case law for the purp
ose of demonstrating that CIC cannot
deny
citizenship to children of Canadian parents.
As the previous section explains, however
, neither
parent has ever been granted permanent resid
ent status in Canada or Canadian citizenship.
t,.JC
will not be pursuing revocation of citizenship
in respect of either parent because they do not
hold
such a status,
.

..

me seconu n.ason va counse reitcs the

ap

1
cap
h tt of the :(2) e\reptlon is becaose hc
maintains that Ms. Vavilova and Mr. Bezrukov
do not fall within the confines of the grou
ps of
persons wtose employment in Canada prevent
rheir children from acquiring citizenship desp
ite
b ng bor in Canada, a- ctuinei n 1
muaaran s 3(2ya (b) and (ci of the fr Counsel
c.ira
uu
that CIC cannot invoke subsection 3(2) beca
use CC has not requested or obtained verif
ication
with the Foreign Affairs Protocol to prove that
Ms Vavilov and Mr. Bezrukov held diplomati
c
or consular status with the Russian Fede
ration while they resided in Canada. As expl
ained in
letters to counsel dated March 18. 2014 and
April 1, 2014, it is reiterated that seeking such
a
verification is not required when the
persons in question, in this case Ms. Vavilova
and
Mr. Bezrukov, were employed in Cana
da by a foreign government without the bene
fits or
protections (i.e.: immunity) that accompany
diplotnatic, consular, or official status positions
. As
preous sections of this report have cx lame
d, agents of the SYR are not aftbrded. diplomati
c or
consular privileges because such a direct and
overt association whit Russian authorities
would
risk jcopardizin.g their capacity to create conv
incing and mnon_R ussian lcn.ends.
As previously indicated., Cattadian authoriti
es believe that Ms. Vavilova and Mr. t3ezr
ukov
entered Canad.a surreptitiously and illegally
in the late I 9.SOs or early 1 990s (the exact date
of
entry remains unknown to immigration auth
orities) for the purpose of carrying out S Vii.
orders to
assume Canadian legends for later use in the
United. States (the SVRs target country) .For
this
reason. CIC maintains that Ivis, Vavi.lova
and Mr. itezruk.ov were unofhcial employe
es or
renrescntatives of the Russian Federation throu
ghout the entirety u.f their
in. Canada.
ANALYSTS OF LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK
., INTENT ANT) APPLICABILITY
jEll/ui.

Eli

A.kxco tclei rev, fin

C/ow,

/0

(i

l/ICIth?i/t C/i/ztn.vhip

Alexander Vavilov (born Alexander Foley) was

bern to Ms. Vavilova and Mr. Bcz.ruk.ov on June
wa also ai J
t nn
0
,)utcr 0
ida
t (p
a a & i man a
L s
it C at cIa tm
Caandittrt citizeti at the time of Mr. V.avilov c
birth. CC insit Lid rnaintans that Ms. \ autlova
and
Hr K nit
ser ii twoi a t a El J w
c t 1 c pic t a
or mill
t

19

Rassian Federations SVR at the tine

of \1r. \avilioc s birth in (anada
. As such. >Ar. \a\!Iov is
not e.ntiiied to Canadian citizenship
uursuant o ararapti 3t2
)(a ottlie (itizenship Ac!.
At the tine of his birth, N4r. Vavilov
was erroneousiv rectignized by
CIC as being. a (:;anadan
CIlIIkO uJti4nt -1 pata tA
3 Iya w t}. C: rLnI ill A j On
T9jlUctI \ 1 S 201 3 C I t
approved Air. V wiiovs application
S dix.
for a certificate of Canadian citi
zenship and issued him a
certificato of citizenship nuniber Ki
160968. While the true iden

tities of Mr. \avilovs parents

became known to Canadian authorities on,h
r after their 201 0 arrest by the
FBI, the administrative
error of issuing a certificate of citizen
ship to Mr. Vavilov in 2013
was due to a lack of note
entries in GIGs systems. C IC entered
notes immediately following the real
ization of this error,
in July 2013. which led to the flaggin
g of sifr Vaviiov s brother fimoth
ys applcaiion for a
certificate of Canadian citizenship mo
nths Later.
it is important to note that Timothy
and Alexander have signed affid.nv
its (included in the
submissions package) claiming to hav
e been completely unaware of thei
r parents involvement
with the SYR prior to the FBis 201
0 operation. CSIS has since informe
d CiC that Timothy
Vavilov had becn sworn i& by the
SVR prior to his parents arrest.
Tim
othys pledge of
allegtance to the Sc K ts documente
a ut both Amencan!canaoan anu
Russian mainstream
media, It is not known if Alexander
2
has also pledged allegiance to the
SVR.
RECOMMENDATION
Paragraph 3(2)(a) of the Ciuzens hip
Act stales that citizenship is not gra
nted to a person horn in
Canada if At the time of his birt neit
h.
ier of his parents was a citizen
or law/uI/p admitted to
Canada fIT pernianeitt residence and
either of his anrentc was
(a) a diplomat or consular qificer or
nt/icr representative or employee
in Gaunt/a of a
foreign goiernn;ent [cmphasi.s add
ed]
After a thorough review of all of the
information on file and suhmssion
s received by coun.se.i,
dcando Vat do, p roui > oe bod
cmwlo) Let of e lo Lit a osclrtmtnt v,hi
lu nstding ii
<nedr at Thc Ut ot I \ \ilo c
nrn 1 to nto Ontario and
ue\ torC i cithei (iti/J
iawftliv admitted to Caneda br rier
S .31
maneni residence.
,

It is theretbre recommended that

the Registrar of Ciuzenship reca
ll Alexander Vavdovs
certificate of citizenship K. I I 6096$
because he was not entitled to Canadia
n rtijz.cnsl.up.
Ce

\/

12

2-4 /?tf4

lit

P ,O

t dU
0
eg

Sotihiei4ttrie i.arnohe
Ane.lyst

See. tndrci Soidatoc, Wh A \ o:u Ame

rican V/rots; to he a Russian Spy,
Th Moscow
I
n..
C
1
._

01 1 (,.. C
Ot ,,,,j
Assents. The iSiS! Aspect .iesnrza! (J&z
k 31, 201 2s,
I

ti

.0

I)

1
$

0
,

t S

,,

IJat

it
Ta

It

i/toes (Aur,,ust

i
.

OS,

et
s

14

C I

20

bave reviewed all the mateal bef

ore .me, and I am h.ereb recalli
ng and cancjitg the
cirizenshiri ceriflcate K 116096
8 issued to Alexander Vavilov,

I have reviewed all the. material bef

ore me. and Ido not intend to
recall and cancel the
citizenship certifIcate #1(116096
8 issued to Alexander Vavilov.

Date

Qd /; j
t

1e\arart Hi1s
Recistrar of Citizenship