FBI top 10 list: How Goldy Brar runs Bishnoi gang’s global crime empire from US

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Monday added Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar, one of India’s most wanted gangsters and deputy of jailed gang leader Lawrence Bishnoi, to its list of ten most wanted fugitives.

The federal agency also announced a reward of $1 million ( ₹9.6 crore) for information leading to his arrest. “Brar is considered to be extremely violent, armed, and dangerous,” the bureau said.

Brar, in his early 30s, is an accused in dozens of targeted assassinations, shootings, murders, kidnappings, extortions, assaults, and the trafficking of narcotics and weapons in India, the US and Canada. He was operating from Brampton in Canada for a long time but is believed to be operating out of the US from where he oversees Lawrence Bishnoi gang’s activities.

India declared him a “terrorist” under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act or UAPA on January 1, 2024.

Canada, which had included him in its 25 most wanted fugitives’ list in 2023, designated the Bishnoi enterprise as a terrorist entity in September 2025.

What FBI said?

While adding him in the 10-most wanted fugitives’ list, FBI said on Monday that Goldy Brar was “wanted for his alleged involvement in the Lawrence Bishnoi Organized Crime Group, which is allegedly engaged in a variety of violent acts in Southern California and across the United States and Canada”.

“These alleged acts include targeted assassinations—including of a prominent political and religious figure—shootings, murders, kidnappings, extortions, assaults, and the trafficking of narcotics and weapons,” FBI said. The reference to the murder of a political figure is Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder in Canada in 2023.

Goldy Brar is based in the US and is the alleged leader of the group in North America, the FBI added.

“Satinderjeep 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 dollars for his capture,” said FBI Los Angeles Field Office assistant director in charge Patrick Grandy.

Grandy said that the attention adding Goldy Brar to the list would bring to his face and description could not be overstated. His photo would be found on every FBI-affiliated website and social media platform, and would be publicised on every phone around the world until he’s caught.

US crackdown began in July

It was on July 7 this year that FBI and several other agencies from Canada and Europe, as part of “Operation Hard Ball” arrested 24 members of India-based transnational organised crime groups including Bishnoi gang members. In all, 37 people were indicted including Brar and a reward of $50,000 was declared for his arrest at that time.

“The inclusion of this defendant on the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list underscores this administration’s determination to bring the full force of the law upon transnational criminal gangs,” First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said on Monday.

“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,” Essayli added.

Lisa Moreland, the deputy commissioner of federal policing for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), welcomed the FBI move. “Goldy Brar and his network have wreaked devastating havoc on countless lives—through high-profile murders, shootings, death threats, extortion, arson, and drug trafficking,” she said.

“His addition to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list speaks to the collective resolve to capture him. The RCMP is committed to continue working with partners in the FBI to bring Goldy Brar to justice,” she added.

FBI has said that apart from the 24 people arrested in July, it along with its partners abroad have captured four of the fugitives while the hunt for five more including Brar continues. FBI said the others who are still absconding include -Major Singh, Sukhraj Singh Kang, Kamal and Gurpreet Singh.

Who is Goldy Brar?

Goldy Brar, 32, hails from Muktsar Sahib in Punjab. He has always closely worked with Lawrence Bishnoi but shot to limelight when he arranged a hit on Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala on May 29, 2022, and claimed responsibility for the hit on behalf of the Bishnoi gang.

Indian agencies claim that Brar moved to Canada on a student visa in 2017. He has since been working closely with Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist Lakhbir Singh Landa and other pro- Khalistani extremists and providing them with logistics from the Bishnoi gang. He keeps on moving between the US and Canada, according to the information gathered by Indian agencies.

Apart from ordering hits in India while sitting in the US or Canada, Brar also managed the money generated by the gang. According to a charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2023, money generated from “extortion, illegal liquor, arms smuggling business, etc was sent to Goldy Brar and one Satbir Singh alias Sam in Canada through hawala for further investment as well as for funding the radical activities of pro-Khalistan elements...”.

The money was also invested in yachts, used in financing movies, and to organise the Canadian Premier League, NIA said.

An Interpol red notice was also issued against him on the request of Indian agencies in June 2022.

While declaring him a terrorist, the ministry of home affairs in 2024 said, “Brar backed by cross border agency (referring to Pakistan’s spy agency ISI) was involved in multiple killing and professes radical ideology, figured in making threatening calls to pro-nationalist leaders, demanding ransom and posting the claims of killings on different social media platforms”.

“He has been involved in smuggling of high-grade arms, ammunition and explosive materials through drones from across the border and supplying thereon for carrying out killings and also providing sharpshooters,” MHA had said.

Lawrence Bishnoi gang enterprise

According to the US agencies, the gang is in the name of Lawrence Bishnoi, a 33 year old man from Punjab, India, who is currently imprisoned in India (Gujarat).

FBI said on Monday that Bishnoi, who was a self-styled university student leader before turning to crime.

“Bishnoi projected a public image of himself as a deeply religious ‘patriot’ and used this public image to recruit members and associates to his crime syndicate in India, the US and elsewhere. In private, Bishnoi presided over a sweeping criminal enterprise that spanned multiple continents. Using contraband cellphones and other voice-over internet protocol devices smuggled into his jail cell, Bishnoi personally directed crimes committed by members and associates of his enterprise worldwide,” FBI said.

The US agency said that Goldy Brar, a trusted lieutenant, was delegated the control of the gang by Bishnoi to manage the gang’s day-to-day operations.

“Singh (Brar) spoke for Bishnoi and helped direct the actions of members and associates of the Bishnoi enterprise worldwide. This criminal gang engaged in violent activity in each country in which it operated, including the US, and used violence to cultivate a climate of fear, particularly in India and among Indian diaspora communities worldwide. The gang exploited this fear to extort its victims, hyping their violence and criminality through online videos and internet posts,” FBI said.

The agency added that from March 2024 to July 2025, the Bishnoi enterprise is alleged to have stolen approximately 520 kilograms (1,146.4 pounds) of cocaine in the greater Los Angeles area from rival drug trafficking gangs.