FBI Puts Indian Gangster Goldy Brar On Ten Most Wanted List With $1m Reward
Satinderjeet Singh, better known as Goldy Brar, is accused of leading the North American arm of the Lawrence Bishnoi network and of ordering a 2023 killing in Canada that earlier strained India's relations with Ottawa
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| Image Source: FBI Los Angeles |
Satinderjeet Singh, who uses the alias Goldy Brar among others, was named to the list on Monday by Patrick Grandy, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office. He is the 543rd person added since the list was created in 1950.
He is accused of leading the North American operations of the Lawrence Bishnoi Organized Crime Group, which US prosecutors describe as a syndicate running targeted killings, shootings, kidnappings, extortion and narcotics and weapons trafficking across the United States, Canada and India. He was charged in federal court in Los Angeles with racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion, and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
"The amount of attention this list will bring to his face and description cannot be overstated," Grandy said. "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."
The listing marks a sharp escalation. When he was charged in July, the reward stood at $50,000. It is now twenty times that.
The killing in Surrey
The gravest allegation against Brar concerns a shooting outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on 18 June 2023. Court documents identify the victim only by the initials H.S.N., who was shot by two gunmen as he left a temple. Prosecutors allege that Bishnoi and Brar ordered the killing.
Those details correspond to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the head of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF). That killing became the center of a diplomatic rupture. In September 2023, Justin Trudeau, then Canada's prime minister, told his parliament that credible intelligence linked agents of the Indian government to the murder. India strongly rejected the allegation and has continued to do so. Four Indian nationals have separately been charged with the murder in Canada and are in custody awaiting trial.
The US indictment does not make that claim. It attributes the killing to the Bishnoi syndicate as a criminal enterprise operation and alleges no Indian state involvement or knowledge, as of this stage.
The network
Lawrence Bishnoi, 33, is from Punjab and has been imprisoned in India since 2015. Prosecutors say he cultivated a public image as a devout patriot to recruit followers while privately directing a criminal enterprise across several continents, using contraband mobile phones and internet-based calling devices smuggled into his cell.
The enterprise, US authorities say, used violence to build a climate of fear, particularly among Indian diaspora communities, and then exploited that fear to extort victims, amplifying its own reputation through online videos and social media posts. Canada designated the Bishnoi network a terrorist entity in September 2025.
Brar, described in earlier court filings as Bishnoi's childhood friend, is alleged to have spoken for him and directed the network's members worldwide. Between March 2024 and July 2025, prosecutors say, the enterprise stole about 520 kilograms of cocaine from rival traffickers in the Los Angeles area.
Brar is also the principal accused in India in the killing of the Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, shot dead in Mansa in May 2022. He claimed responsibility within hours. India's National Investigation Agency and Punjab Police have both listed him as among the country's most wanted.
Operation Hardball
The charges arise from Operation Hardball, a years-long investigation into India-based transnational crime groups. On 7 July, prosecutors unsealed three indictments charging 37 defendants across three syndicates. At that point 24 were arrested or already in custody. Four fugitives have since been captured and one has been found dead. Five remain at large, including Brar. The others are named as Major Singh, Sukhraj Singh Kang, a man identified only as Kamal, and Gurpreet Singh.
Thanks to our partners at @LAPDHQ, @RCMPGRCPolice and @USAO_LosAngeles for joining Los Angeles #FBI Assistant Director in Charge, Patrick Grandy, today to announce the addition of Satinderjeet Singh, aka Goldy Brar, to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Grandy announced a… pic.twitter.com/yQ4sW7wwZC
— FBI Los Angeles (@FBILosAngeles) September 29, 2026
"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," said Bill Essayli, first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California.
Lisa Moreland, deputy commissioner of federal policing at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said Singh and his network had "wreaked devastating havoc on countless lives" through murders, shootings, threats, extortion, arson and drug trafficking.
The FBI says Brar is armed, extremely violent and dangerous, and is known to live in California and in parts of Canada. It has warned the public not to approach him. Information can be given anonymously on 1-800-CALL-FBI or at tips.fbi.gov, the statement said.
The case is being investigated by the FBI's Los Angeles field office, the Los Angeles Police Department and the RCMP.