Surge in extortion cases in Canada linked to Khalistan-linked Bambiha outfit, ‘copycat’ actors

The report was released by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), Canada’s financial intelligence unit and anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing supervisor.

“FINTRAC analysis suggests that multiple crime groups appear to be involved in ongoing extortion activities, including the Bishnoi Gang and Bambiha Gang. Notably, reporting submitted to FINTRAC indicates the possibility of “copycat” actors leveraging the weight associated with these crime groups to maximise their own impact,” the report noted. It also alluded to the use of international students from India, particularly for undertaking transactions relating to extortion.

The Bishnoi gang was designated a terror entity in September 2025. Describing it as “a transnational criminal organisation with a presence in Canada and is active in areas with significant diaspora communities”, the report stated that its “core criminal portfolio” reportedly includes a variety of fraud schemes, human trafficking, narcotics trafficking, extortion, and targeted killings, which are described as its largest revenue sources both domestically and abroad.

The Bambiha gang, named after the deceased Davinder Bambiha, “functions as a rival to the Bishnoi syndicate and has grown into a sprawling network of operatives involved in extortion, contract violence, and large-scale protection rackets”, the report noted, adding that it operates through a multi-layered structure of regional commanders inside India and international coordinators based abroad, including Canada and the US, enabling it to sustain operations ranging from violent attacks to coordinated intimidation campaigns.

While they were not mentioned in the report, Indian authorities have alleged that two prominent figures linked to the Bambiha gang in Canada, Sukhdool Gill and Arshdeep Gill, were both also connected to the separatist movement. Sukhdool Gill, also know as Sukha Duneke, was killed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in September 2023, while Arshdeep Singh, better known as Arsh Dhalla, has faced multiple charges in recent years.

FINTRAC said the extortion activity targeting the diaspora, along with the associated money laundering activities, appears to be “primarily associated to loosely organised criminal networks blending local actors with individuals claiming affiliation to overseas organized crime groups.”

Extortion events typically begin with anonymous calls or messages over encrypted chat applications demanding large payments, sometimes in the range of hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, it said, adding that circumstances escalate to gunfire at homes or storefronts and even arson when demands are refused.

“These groups appear to recruit or rely on individuals already living in Canada to act as financial intermediaries (‘money mules’), enforcers, or ‘foot soldiers’, typically financially vulnerable, young male Indian nationals in Canada on study permits,” it pointed out. Such extortion events have been reported from the provinces British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario, with concentrations in areas with large Indo-Canadian populations like the Greater Toronto Area, Surrey in BC’s Lower Mainland and Edmonton, the capital of Alberta.

It said that extortion had become a “multifaceted threat” defined by intimidation, violence, financial coercion, and networked criminal operations that exploit both social dynamics and procedural vulnerabilities.