Former Liberal MP Rajvinder “Raj” Grewal.

A Brampton gurdwara has become part of the growing legal fallout surrounding former Brampton East MP and lawyer Rajvinder “Raj” Grewal.

Nanaksar Thath Ishar Darbar, which operates a gurdwara on Gore Road in Brampton, is one of two Sikh temples named as defendants in a lawsuit seeking repayment of more than $13 million in loans.

The other defendant is the Sikh Spiritual Centre Toronto, commonly known as the Etobicoke Gurdwara.

The lawsuit, filed in Ontario Superior Court earlier this month by private lenders SSMT Management Inc. and Oculus Mortgage GP Inc., alleges the two temples jointly obtained financing that was eventually increased to $15 million. Grewal is also named as a guarantor.

According to the claim, the loans were supposed to be secured against both temple properties. However, the lenders allege that a charge securing the loan was never registered against the Brampton property despite an undertaking by lawyer Davinder Khattra of RSG Law, the firm founded by Grewal.

The lenders allege that about $12 million of the agreed financing was actually advanced and that more than $13 million, including outstanding interest, remains owing.

The loan carried a steep interest rate, reaching 24 per cent after an initial period. At that rate, the monthly interest bill on $15 million would have been about $300,000.

The case has produced conflicting statements about its status.

Grewal’s lawyer, Simon Bieber, told media he understood the matter had been resolved. A representative of the Sikh Spiritual Centre Toronto also said the issue had been resolved.

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However, Maria Naimark, the lawyer representing the lenders, has said the case remains ongoing.

The lawsuit is only the latest legal challenge involving Grewal and RSG Law, and the amounts involved in the various cases have grown into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Law Society of Ontario is investigating Grewal and has alleged misconduct involving mortgage transactions, trust funds and other financial matters. The regulator has said there are reasonable grounds to believe allowing him to continue practising could pose a significant risk to the public or the administration of justice.

Grewal has agreed not to practise law while the Law Society Tribunal considers the regulator’s case. He has denied the allegations through his lawyers.

The former MP’s legal troubles have been building for years.

Grewal represented Brampton East as a Liberal from 2015 until he left the party caucus in 2018. He stepped away from federal politics after acknowledging a gambling problem that had left him with millions of dollars in personal debt. He did not seek re-election in 2019.

In 2020, the RCMP charged Grewal with four counts of breach of trust and one count of fraud over $5,000. Those charges later became the subject of court proceedings.

The latest civil cases are separate from those earlier criminal proceedings and involve Grewal, RSG Law and other individuals and companies.

Several recent lawsuits have alleged financial misconduct involving real estate and mortgage transactions. The Law Society has also taken action against Khattra, who took over ownership of RSG Law, suspending his licence amid its own investigation.

None of the allegations in the latest civil lawsuit, or the broader allegations currently before the courts and Law Society Tribunal, should be treated as findings of wrongdoing unless and until they are proven.

 


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