The Liberal Party of Canada has been in the center of attention in the past week, as one of its MPs Rajvinder Grewal filed resignation citing gambling addiction as the main reason. Amidst the whirlpool of news, it was just now confirmed that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has been investigating the former MP and has kept a close eye on his every transaction in relation to previous allegations of Conflict of Interest Code breach.
This Monday brought more questions than answers when it comes to the former Liberal MP and his issues related to compulsive gambling. Even though his initial statement cited āpersonal and medical reasonsā, it was later confirmed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that it was, in fact, problem gambling that prompted the sudden resignation. However, as it turned out he was not the only one aware of the issue marring MP Grewalās political career.
Sources Point There Has Been Investigations for Months Now
It has been confirmed now that the RCMP has been conducting a thorough investigation and monitoring the MP for the past several months ever since NDP MP Charlie Angus contacted Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion. This has resulted in a detailed investigation of all transactions successfully made by the politician, amounting to millions of Canadian dollars.
A large part of the money was poured at a casino venue located in the vicinity of the Parliament Hill, allegedly Casino du Lac-Leamy. His location was also tracked every once in a while. The sources confirming this information have stated that they rely on evidence obtained via the process of investigation. Over the span of the past three years, the Liberal MP has managed to pour millions of Canadian dollars into casino venues, the one near Parliament Hill in particular.
Due to its proximity across the Ottawa River, it was among the preferred ones for the politician. According to an existing policy established by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada, all transactions exceeding the CA$10,000 mark over the span of a single day should be reported by the casino operator where such has taken place. According to the information disclosed, Liberal MP Grewal has managed to surpass the said amount on a number of occasions while gambling.
Conflict of Interest Code Alleged Breach
This comes to show that there is a serious issue at hand and gambling addiction combined with substantial financial resources could lead to devastating consequences. Keeping this in mind, the mandatory reports of the FINTRAC was what notified the RCMP that there is an actual issue, which prompted the following steps to be taken.
Individuals of the law-enforcement institution have followed Mr. Grewal from his work on Parliament Hill to the casino venue, striving to shed more light onto his habits in relation to gambling and the general amount of time he spends at casino venues. It was only recently that the RCMP provided the House of Commons with the information that there is a probe in progress, striving to get their hands on records including the Liberal MP.
The investigation itself was prompted by the conflict of interest allegations, as Prime Minister Trudeauās trip to India at the beginning of this year saw MP Grewal inviting Yusuf Yenilmez, head of ZGemi Inc. along. This was a controversial move, as the company is one of the leading contractors in the Brampton area and a such his attendance at the trip has provided him with access to the leaders present.
