Pro-Khalistan-linked gangster Satinderjeet Singh, better known as Goldy Brar, has been added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, with a reward of up to US$1 million offered for information leading to his arrest.
Indian authorities have previously linked Brar to pro-Khalistan militant networks, including the banned Babbar Khalsa International (BKI).
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) designated Brar as a terrorist and has alleged that he was involved in a BKI-linked conspiracy involving violence and terror financing.
The latest FBI action also places renewed international focus on the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a pro-Khalistan who was shot dead outside a gurudwara in Surrey, British Columbia.
US prosecutors allege that Brar and Lawrence Bishnoi’s (whose birth name is reported as Balkaran Brar) organised crime group were involved in ordering the assassination.
The FBI says Brar is the alleged North American leader of the Lawrence Bishnoi Organised Crime Group, which it alleges has been involved in targeted killings, shootings, extortion, kidnappings, assaults and narcotics and weapons trafficking across the US, Canada and elsewhere.
Bishnoi is currently imprisoned in India. The NIA has separately investigated alleged links between the Bishnoi network and pro-Khalistan groups.
The FBI said Singh was charged in federal court in Los Angeles with racketeering-influenced and corrupt organisations conspiracy, conspiracy to interfere with and attempt to interfere with commerce by extortion, and conspiracy to distribute and possess controlled substances.
The FBI also identified Singh as the 543rd addition to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and described him as armed and dangerous.
Authorities say he is known to reside in the United States and parts of Canada.
The development follows a purported leaked audio recording that surfaced in August in which Brar allegedly claimed responsibility for Nijjar’s killing during a conversation with UK-based pro-Khalistan figure Paramjit Singh Pamma.
In the recording, Brar allegedly said Nijjar was targeted because of his alleged involvement in drug networks and the recruitment or exploitation of young people. However, the authenticity of the audio has not been independently verified, and the claims made in the recording do not by themselves establish the circumstances or motive for Nijjar’s killing.
The FBI said its investigation forms part of Operation Hardball, a wider investigation into India-based transnational organised crime groups. In July, US authorities announced indictments against 37 defendants connected to three such groups, alleging crimes including racketeering, targeted killings, extortion and international narcotics trafficking.
FBI Los Angeles Assistant Director in Charge Patrick Grandy said the agency and its international partners had made Brar’s capture a priority and announced the US$1 million reward.
The FBI has urged anyone with information about Brar’s whereabouts to contact law enforcement and warned members of the public not to approach him.
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