CIBC asks court to appoint a receiver to oversee businesses run by lawyer and former MP Raj Grewal

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has asked an Ontario court to appoint a receiver to oversee the collection of $17.7-million that the bank argues it is owed by former Liberal MP Rajvinder Grewal, saying he is facing an “avalanche of active litigation” from numerous parties trying to recover funds.

Mr. Grewal is the founder of law firm RSG Law Professional Corporation and is separately facing an application from the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) to revoke his licence to practise law amid allegations that he participated in mortgage fraud that could add up to more than $100-million.

In August, Mr. Grewal agreed in an undertaking not to practise law while resolving his status with the self-regulating professional body. The disciplinary hearing is on hold pending judicial review of a disclosure order from the LSO Tribunal, scheduled for January, 2027.

“In light of the avalanche of active litigation and investigations against Raj, his father, RSG Law and companies owned and/or controlled by them, it is apparent that the Respondents are not in the position to repay the amounts owing under the Loans to the Bank,” CIBC said in its court filing.

Former MP Raj Grewal faces law licence suspension amid fraud allegations

Mr. Grewal’s lawyer, Simon Bieber, said in an e-mailed statement that his client won’t comment on the allegations against him at this time.

“Mr. Grewal intends to address the lawsuits and the allegations against him on their merits through the judicial process,” Mr. Bieber said.

According to court filings, CIBC provided loans secured against commercial properties owned by RSG Holdings Ltd., RSG Oakville Holdings Inc., and 108-20 Maritime Holdings Inc., which it says are companies owned or controlled by Mr. Grewal.

In addition to CIBC’s loans, title searches show that the properties have been encumbered with more debts. Those debts include $13-million in loans secured against a six-storey building at 6605 Hurontario St. in Mississauga, and more than $18-million in loans registered against a strip mall at 520-550 Kerr St. in Oakville. Almost $900,000 in unpaid property taxes are owed against the two properties.

In June, in a separate civil case brought by WIGI Restructured Bond Corporation, AlixPartners Restructuring Inc. was appointed by the court to run a process to sell the Oakville strip mall. The case focuses on millions of dollars allegedly fraudulently diverted during a land sale involving Mr. Grewal’s father, Avtar Singh Grewal, and parties associated with RSG Law and the RSG Holdings companies.

Legal documents in that case say that there were multiple parties with loans secured against properties connected to RSG Law and Mr. Grewal, and some preliminary wrangling over the authority of AlixPartners had been resolved by the court in July.

CIBC’s application argues that “there needs to be an effort to establish a single efficient and effective overall process for dealing with claims against Raj, Avtar and companies owned and/or controlled by them.” That argument is essentially a paraphrase of wording in a July order from Ontario Superior Court Justice Fred Myers.

CIBC’s loan contracts allow it to apply for a receiver in the event of default. In its filings, the bank lists multiple contract breaches including failing to keep property taxes current, failure to get consent for the registration of new loans on the same properties and failure to disclose litigation involving those properties.

Mr. Grewal was also recently added as a defendant in a case where he previously had not been named involving attempts by National Bank of Canada to recover $4.2-million that it alleges was fraudulently diverted by RSG Law and Mr. Grewal’s associate Davinder Khattra.

Mr. Khattra, 29, has been the owner and operator of RSG Law since 2024 and is also facing an LSO application to revoke his licence to practise law. The licence was suspended by the LSO Tribunal in August.

Since late June, Justice Myers has authorized a court order tracing National Bank funds that were transferred into RSG Law’s trust account and were supposed to be forwarded on to RBC Financial by RSG. They instead were transferred in pieces to a variety of sources.

To date, almost two dozen recipients of the money have been identified – mainly numbered companies and individuals connected to Mr. Grewal, including his father – and 12 freeze orders have been issued by the court to stop money from being moved again.

In an Aug. 26 court filing, National Bank described an unusual admission from Mr. Grewal’s own lawyer about $195,000 that was sent to a company that operates truck stops called 5459 Ontario Inc.

According to National Bank’s lawyer, Wendy Greenspoon-Soer, a lawyer representing 5459 had previously said the company had no knowledge of the money or control of those funds.

But Mr. Grewal’s lawyer, Mr. Bieber, later sent a letter saying that the money had indeed been forwarded to 5459 and that 5459 would repay the disputed amount to the court if it would resolve the legal action against 5459 and Mr. Grewal, according to the court filing.

“This evidence confirms that Grewal was always the person with ultimate control over 5459 Ontario Inc.,” National Bank said in its filing.

As of Aug. 26, the funds had not been returned.