Raj Grewal pictured with Yusuf Yenilmez, CEO of Zgemi Inc., for whom Grewal helped secure an invitation to attend events in India, during the prime minister’s trip.

OTTAWA – Liberal MP Raj Grewal helped secure invitations for his own business affiliate to attend events in India, during Trudeau’s recent India trip, apparently without clearance from the federal ethics commissioner.

Raj Grewal, the first-term MP for Brampton East, receives “employment income” from Zgemi Inc., a construction company headed by Yusuf Yenilmez, a Liberal supporter.

Grewal and Yenilmez were in India for Trudeau’s official visit, mingling with the political delegation that accompanied the prime minister on the seven-day trip last month.

Zgemi’s Facebook page says Yenilmez attended business delegation events with Trudeau in Mumbai and New Delhi.

Trudeau’s office has been questioned for the past month about how closely it vets guest lists.

Grewal began a relationship with Zgemi Inc. about a year ago, well after he was elected as MP for Brampton East in 2015.

Grewal said he provides legal services to the company on a contract basis, and there had been no previous relationship with Yenilmez.

“All legal work involves only private legal disputes and does not interact with any government files,” he said.

“Yusuf, the CEO, registered for the India trip to expand Zgemi business in India, registered through the Canada-India Business Council to attend the business seminars. He also reached out to my office to be invited to the High Commissioner’s receptions in India.”

“I went to India for business and signed up to attend the Business Networking sessions offered by the Canada India Foundation,” Yenilmez said.

Yenilmez also confirmed that Grewal’s work “only involves private legal disputes, we do not have any files with the federal government.”

Yenilmez has a record of supporting the Liberals that dates back several years.

In a subsequent email Tuesday afternoon, Yenilmez confirmed Grewal’s account that he had approached the office for invitations, saying that while he had access to events through the council, “I also called Mr. Grewal’s office and asked to make sure my name was on the list.”

Grewal would not give a yes-or-no answer when asked if the ethics commissioner had reviewed whether the invitations from his office were appropriate.

“As is common practice, I invited a diverse group of more than thirty supporters and stakeholders to participate in events around the India trip,” he said in an email this weekend. “(Yusuf) is the head of a local company that employs over 300 people, as well as a supporter. But I included anyone who came to me who was interested in attending.”

A similar process had been described by Sarai to justify Atwal’s invitation. In an interview with his local newspaper, Sarai said earlier this month he had forwarded the names of 25 to 30 people from various industries. “All we did is forwarded anybody that wanted to attend, that had expressed interest in the office,” he told the Surrey Now-Leader.

Grewal said Yenilmez would have gained access to receptions through the Canada-India Business Council, even if his office hadn’t put his name on the list. Yet on the list he was.

Grewal added that a conflict-of-interest screen had been put into place by the ethics commissioner. “I have and will continue to follow the screen,” he said.

Although Zgemi Inc. has appeared on Grewal’s ethics disclosures since April 2017, no formal screen appears on the public registry, where all such screens are published — these, according to Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion’s office, are authorized under the Conflict of Interest Act, which only applies to ministers and parliamentary secretaries.

The Conflict of Interest Code for MPs, which does apply to Grewal, says members are responsible for arranging their affairs “in a manner that bears the closest public scrutiny,” and “so that foreseeable real or apparent conflicts of interest may be prevented from arising.”

Dion’s spokeswoman Margot Booth said those who fall under the Code but not the Act may be given advice “that they should recuse themselves in certain situations,” but “such advice is not generally formalized in a conflict of interest screen.” She was not authorized to comment specifically on Grewal.

Grewal did not answer a question about whether the prime minister’s office was made aware that invitations were being offered to a business affiliate of a Liberal MP.

The prime minister’s office would not provide a comment on the record. An official would only say, under the condition that their name not be revealed, that they had nothing to add to Grewal’s response. Asked whether Trudeau’s office had seen Grewal’s statement to the Post before it was sent, the official repeated that they had nothing to add.