RCMP have charged Raj Grewal the former Liberal MP representing Brampton East with four counts of Breach of Trust and one count of Fraud Over $5,000. Grewal had been a member of the influential finance committee of the House of Commons, as well as the health committee. Grewal announced on November 22, 2018 that he intended to resign as MP and was leaving federal politics for personal and medical reasons. A statement released the next day by a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office clarified that Grewal was resigning to seek treatment for problem gambling which had “led him to incur significant personal debts.” Grewal reportedly gambled millions of dollars between 2015 and 2018, including at the Casino du Lac-Leamy. The casino’s disclosure to FINTRAC then led to an RCMP investigation.
An RCMP release reads, “It is alleged that Mr. Grewal failed to report his receipt of millions in personal loans to the Ethics Commissioner, in circumstances that constitute a criminal breach of trust. It is further alleged that Mr. Grewal solicited loans for his own personal benefit in connection with the use of his public office, and that he administered his government-funded constituency office budget for his own personal benefit, under circumstances which constituted a criminal fraud or breach of trust.” Mr. Grewal is expected to appear at the Ottawa Ontario Court of Justice on October 6th, 2020.
The son of an airport cab driver, Grewal attended Wilfrid Laurier University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business, and then completed an MBA at York University’s Schulich School of Business and a law degree at Osgoode Hall Law School. Prior to his legal studies he worked as a financial analyst, while after becoming a lawyer he specialized in mergers, acquisitions and corporate finance on Bay Street.
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