Raj Grewal, an ethically-challenged Liberal (and former MP for Brampton East) is facing criminal charges for fraud and breach of trust.
Given what we know about Justin Trudeau’s repeated ethics violations (as well as those of his cabinet colleagues), it’s no surprise that another former member of Team Trudeau is just as ethically-challenged as the current Prime Minister of Canada.
On September 11, 2020, the RCMP charged former Liberal MP Rajvinder Singh Grewal with
- Breach of Trust contrary to Section 122 of the Criminal Code (4 counts), and
- Fraud Over $5,000 contrary to Section 380(1) of the Criminal Code (1 count)
Grewal’s legal troubles began over Grewal’s gambling debts, which news reports say was “millions of dollars in total.”
Mr. Grewal’s gambling activities triggered the disclosure requirements of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), under which casinos must report transactions of more than $10,000 a day. Another federal source said Mr. Grewal exceeded that threshold many times over on occasion at the casino.
FINTRAC relayed the information to the RCMP. The police force eventually transferred the file to its national division, which is responsible for political matters. In addition to looking into financial transactions, the RCMP sometimes followed Mr. Grewal from Parliament Hill to the casino as part of the investigation.
While he was the MP for Brampton East, Grewal failed to disclose $6 million he received from a variety of sources between October 2015 and April 2019.
The RCMP alleges Grewal solicited funds “by deceit, falsehood or other fraudulent means” and used the money for his personal benefit.
Raj Grewal resigned his seat in Parliament on November 22, 2018, and, that same day the PMO wished Grewal well.
“Earlier this week, Mr. Grewal told us that he is undergoing serious personal challenges, and that he is receiving treatment from a health professional related to a gambling problem that led him to incur significant personal debts,” said Chantal Gagnon, a spokesperson for the prime minister.
“Based on these circumstances, we agreed that his decision to resign as Member of Parliament for Brampton East was the right one. We hope he receives the support he needs.”
The RCMP press release finishes with this:
This concludes an extensive criminal investigation which first began in September 2017, after the RCMP received proactive disclosures from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) regarding suspicious transactions involving Mr. Grewal during his time in office.
Man, we could tell a lot of similar stories couldn’t we??
So glad to see you back in the limelight with these essential exposes’. Hope your jobs went well!!
Thanks John! Yes, they did. I still have one major project to complete, but except for some data I’m waiting on, I’m about 90% there and confident I’ll be finished by the weekend.
So will he repay the money? If not, what is the deterrent here?
Great question, Joe. Like with the PM and other ministers, there seems to be none.