Fugitive and alleged killer of Surrey Sikh leader added to FBI's Most Wanted list

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $1,000,000 for information leading to the arrest of Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar. Photo by FBI

Article content

Fugitive and alleged killer Goldy Brar has been added to FBI’s Most Wanted list, with U.S. authorities now offering a $1-million reward for his capture.

Article content

Law enforcement officials have alleged that Brar, also known as Satinderjeet Singh, ordered and aided the June 2023 assassination in Surrey of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Four others have been charged in that murder and are in custody awaiting trial.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Patrick Grandy, assistant director of the FBI Los Angeles field office announced Monday that Brar is now one of the 10 most wanted fugitives in the U.S. with the substantially increased reward. Previously the reward for his capture was set at US$50,000.

Article content

Article content

New charges against Brar, including murder, extortion and drug distribution, were announced in July after the FBI’s Operation Hard Ball targeted India’s Lawrence Bishnoi gang and two other transnational criminal organizations involved in extortion and other violent crimes in both the U.S. and Canada.

Article content

A photo of murdered Sikh independence leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar is carried during a protest outside the Indian consulate in Vancouver on June 24, 2023. Photo by Jason Payne/Postmedia/File

Article content

The FBI news release said that Brar is believed to be based in the U.S. and is believed to be the head of the Bishnoi gang in North America.

Article content

“Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, is a dangerous individual, and the FBI and our partners have made it our priority to apprehend him, which is why we’re adding him to the FBI’s list of Top Ten fugitives and offering a reward of up to $1 million for his capture,” Grandy said.

Article content

“The amount of attention this list will bring to his face and description cannot be overstated; his photo will be found on every FBI-affiliated website and social media platform, and will be publicized on every phone around the world until he’s caught.”

Article content

Article content

Brar was one of 37 people charged in Operation Hard Ball, including four B.C. men accused of drug trafficking for the two other criminal organizations. Three of those men, Ravinder Dhanda, Gurtej Smagh and Jaskarn Baghri, are facing extradition proceedings in B.C. Supreme Court. Another B.C. man, Garinder Deo, was arrested in France and is facing extradition proceedings there.

Article content

Article content

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said Brar’s inclusion on the 10 most wanted list “underscores this administration’s determination to bring the full force of the law upon transnational criminal gangs.”

Article content

“Working together with law enforcement in Canada, Europe, and Asia, we will continue to hunt down thugs such as Goldy Brar and ensure they never see the outside of a prison again,” he said in a statement.

Article content

According to documents obtained by Global News and CBC, Brar got a student visa to attend Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops in 2017, though it’s not known if he ever went to classes there.

Article content

Brar filed a refugee claim in 2019, which was letter deemed abandoned as his reputation for violence and threats grew around the world.