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Singla family lawyer responds to media reports of CBSA raid

Border services agents had been at the home all day Thursday conducting an “enforcement action”
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Paul Singla, one of two Singla siblings that own Singla Brothers Holdings and the husband of Realtor Vijay Singla, is seen entering the side of his home on Heather Road in Penticton Friday, the day after several Canadian Border Services Agency officers executed an enforcement action at the property. Dustin Godfrey/Western News

The lawyer for the Singla family, whose home-office was raided by Canada Border Services Agency has issued a statement “to address some of the concerns raised by recent media reports.”

“No charges have been laid against any member of the Singla family,” lawyer Paul Varga said in a news release. “The Singla family is unaware of any charges laid against any employee of or person connected to any of Paul Singla’s businesses.”

Varga also noted that CBSA agents were only at the property last Thursday, despite claims from another media outlet that a “large team of agents” were active at the home again on Friday.

Related: Singla Brothers Holdings office raided by border services officers

Indeed, a CBSA statement only noted the agency’s presence on Thursday and the Western News did not observe any officers at the property Friday morning.

“The Singla family has not issued any previous statement in connection with the search,” Varga said. “Previous reports that implied Singla Bros. Holdings Ltd. had boasted of operating 200 rental units in connection with the CBSA investigation are erroneous.”

It is not clear which, if any, media have reported charges against members of the Singla family. Nor is it clear if any media reported a connection between the Singla Brothers Holdings website’s claim to 200 rental units in the Okanagan and the CBSA investigation.

Varga said operations at Singla Brothers Holdings “continue without interruption.”

Nearby residents told the Western News last week about eight officers with the CBSA had been going in and out of the reclusive family’s home with computer bags Thursday from around 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

In a statement, CBSA would only confirm the agency was “involved in an enforcement action at a location in Penticton.”

The nature of the investigation has not yet been made publicly clear.