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Litigation over millions in alleged financial misconduct by former MP and lawyer Raj Grewal and his colleagues has brought to the fore a more chilling backdrop to the saga — a shocking murder of a Grewal associate and shootings at his home.

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The recent cross-examination of a witness in one of a slew of lawsuits against the ex-Liberal member, the law firm he founded and other lawyers raised the fact that a Grewal employee, Jaskarn Dhaliwal, was shot dead eight months ago as he drove out of a Brampton, Ont., mall.

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Police described the incident as an isolated attack, and within days charged three men in Dhaliwal’s murder, two from Brampton and one from Toronto, all in their 20s.

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In other violent incidents, someone fired at Grewal’s Toronto-area home in 2023 and, according to sources, again more recently.

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Multiple lawsuits and the Law Society of Ontario, the province’s legal regulator, have accused Grewal and associates of fraud, misappropriation of client funds and other wrongdoing in a series of real-estate transactions.

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Grewal resigned his Brampton East seat in 2018 after admitting to racking up millions in gambling losses, was charged by the RCMP over loans he received to pay off the debts, then was acquitted.

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There’s no evidence the shootings had any connection to the allegations now being litigated. But a businessman in a financial spat with RSG Law, the firm Grewal founded, recently talked in a deposition for one of the cases about the impact Dhaliwal’s killing had on him.

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“There was a shooting that happened in December and it was one of Raj’s employees and, after that, I was really, like, I was really, really shaken up,” said Sarwan Singh, who says RSG Law owes him $4 million in unpaid loans. “That happened about, like, three or four minutes from my house…. He (the victim) was a young kid.”

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The 25-year-old was ambushed as he was leaving Brampton’s Shoppers World mall, his attackers firing multiple shots, Peel Regional Police said at the time. They have never indicated the possible motive.

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  1. Former MP Raj Grewal faces slew of fraud allegations, possible suspension as lawyer
  2. Ex-Liberal MP allegedly promised to pay back millions only if lenders didn’t complain to Law Society of Ontario
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Lawyer Wendy Greenspoon-Soer, who represents The National Bank in one of the suits, asked Singh if he thought the murder was linked to Dhaliwal’s work at RSG.

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“I am not saying that. I am saying that, in general, it just shook me up,” he replied.

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“But did you continue to do business with RSG after that in terms of loans?” continued the lawyer. “No, we shut it down dramatically,” said Singh. “We really pushed back on everything.”

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Simon Bieber, a lawyer for Grewal, said it would be wrong to link the murder to the current legal battles.

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“Mr. Dhaliwal’s death was tragic and his parents lost their only child,” Bieber told National Post by email. “The perpetrators of that crime have been arrested and are facing serious charges. To the extent that you are interested in finding out their motivations, their criminal trial would be the best place to start.

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“But raising Mr. Dhaliwal’s death alongside the current civil lawsuits and attempting to draw a connection is not only improper, and likely defamatory, it will force a young man’s family to unnecessarily revisit the tragedy.”