ManitobaA Manitoba judge has ordered the former head priest of a Sikh religious organization in Winnipeg to explain his wealth, after he was accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a temple donation box.Sukhwinder Singh is 1st person to face unexplained wealth order in ManitobaOzten Shebahkeget · CBC News · Posted: Nov 05, 2025 4:09 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesSukhwinder Singh, the former head priest at Gurdwara Kalgidhar Darbar, faces criminal charges and is being sued for at least $410,000 in allegedly stolen donation money. A judge approved an order for him to explain his wealth on Monday. (Trevor Brine/CBC)A Manitoba judge has ordered the former head priest of a Sikh religious organization in Winnipeg to explain his wealth, after he was accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a temple donation box.Gurdwara Kalgidhar Darbar Inc., which operates the temple in northwest Winnipeg, filed a lawsuit earlier this year that alleges Sukhwinder Singh, its former priest, had over $410,000 in stolen cash that came from donations to the religious organization, referred to as Kalgidhar.On Monday, Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Justice Sarah Inness approved an application seeking an unexplained wealth order against Singh, filed by the director of the province’s criminal property forfeiture branch in May.It’s the first application for an unexplained wealth order in Manitoba. Such orders can be made if a person is suspected to hold illegally obtained property. They were brought in under amendments to provincial criminal property forfeiture legislation last year.”I’m granting the application for the order made by the director,” Inness said at the end of Monday’s hearing. “The director can prepare an order for my signature.”Singh served as head priest of the temple for about 13 years, from 2011 to 2024, when his employment was terminated.He was arrested in September 2024 and later charged with theft over $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000. His trial is set for February.As head priest, Singh’s duties included handling cash donations from congregants, which could have been dropped off at the temple or made for services such as weddings, the Kalgidhar’s lawsuit says.Singh “was expected to carry on a simple lifestyle, fully devoted to his duties,” according to Sikh custom, the document said. He was paid about $12,000 annually, until the gurdwara raised his pay to about $18,000 in February 2024, court heard Monday.The gurdwara began to review its surveillance footage in light of suspicions that it was being stolen from for some time, court heard.In September 2024, a volunteer observed Singh handling “large quantities of cash at the temple in a suspicious manner,” Kalgidhar’s lawsuit says.Court also heard Monday that the gurdwara installed a second surveillance camera near the donation box after Singh was seen turning the first one off for 18 minutes in one instance.$410K cash foundFootage from the second camera showed Singh removing cash from the temple’s donation boxes, and included video of him opening the donation box, dumping the cash onto a sheet, and then bundling it up, court heard.The money, which consisted mainly of $100, $50 and $20 bills, was “concealed in plastic boxes wrapped in bedsheets,” the lawsuit alleges.Further investigation found over $410,000 in cash in Singh’s living quarters at the temple, the suit said.Kalgidhar accuses Singh of misappropriating roughly $1.5 million to $2 million that way.The money was seized after Kalgidhar reported what happened to police, who arrested Singh.Kalgidhar also alleged Singh purchased a Winnipeg home for $332,000 in 2019, which he owns without any mortgage. Given his modest salary and his obligations to the temple in employment as head priest, Kalgidhar alleges Singh’s home in Winnipeg was purchased with misappropriated donation funds and not his own money.Judge dismisses motion to delaySteven Brennan, Singh’s defence lawyer, argued against the unexplained wealth order application, saying it would be inconsistent with court rules meant to prevent multiple similar court proceedings if they delay or complicate a hearing or unfairly prejudice an involved party.Brennan submitted a motion to delay the unexplained wealth order until Kalgidhar’s lawsuit against Singh is dealt with.”It is entirely possible that we could have inconsistent verdicts,” he told the judge.However, Brennan did concede that the application for the order met the legal test for approval.Inness said the unexplained wealth order will require Singh to provide information and documents that may contain incriminating details, but she did not agree that it would hurt his case in the lawsuit.No right to silence”While Mr. Singh has the right to remain silent in his criminal proceedings, that same right does not arise in civil proceedings,” she said.Should Kalgidhar’s lawsuit move forward, Singh will be required to file a statement of defence and answer questions related to the alleged theft, Inness said.Furthermore, the gurdwara supports the application for an unexplained wealth order, she said.In dismissing Brennan’s motion, Inness said to delay the unexplained wealth order would also delay the criminal property forfeiture director’s ability to act in the public’s interest.”A stay would delay the director’s ability to seek timely, efficient and proportionate access to justice.”ABOUT THE AUTHORÖzten Shebahkeget is a member of Northwest Angle 33 First Nation who grew up in Winnipeg’s North End. She has been writing for CBC Manitoba since 2022. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature and a master’s in writing.Email: ozten.shebahkeget@cbc.ca
Judge orders former Sikh priest to explain wealth after over $400K in donations stolen from Winnipeg gurdwara
