Queen's Service Medal recipient Davinder Rahal's company is in liquidation owing $4 million and a finance company is chasing him for $180,000 owed on luxury 2015 Rolls Royce Ghost.
Queen's Service Medal recipient Davinder Rahal's company is in liquidation owing $4 million and a finance company is chasing him for $180,000 owed on luxury 2015 Rolls Royce Ghost.
Davinder Singh Rahal boasts about his $8m fortune while owing $4m to creditors.
He claims a gang member threatened him over a commercial dispute, with the incident now under police investigation.
Rahal’s financial troubles have raised concerns about his status as a community leader and honours holder.
An Indian community leader and Queen’s Service Medal holder who owes millions of dollars to creditors has boasted online about his $8 million fortune and claims he was threatened by a patched gang member at his South Auckland home.
Rahal and his company also owe nearly $1m in damages to a South Auckland couple after a court ruled he had deceptively sold them a rotting home in a case described by a judge as “quite literally a cover-up”.
The Herald reported on FTL’s $4m liabilities last weekend following the release of the first liquidator’s report. The story was shared by Indian media.
Commenting on the story in Punjabi on an Indian radio station’s Facebook page, Rahal wrote: “Woe to the man who says he is in debt! I have assets of $8 million. Evenafter returning everyone’s money, I have $4 million left to enjoy life.”
The post was quickly deleted but has raised eyebrows in light of Rahal’s financial woes and two court decisions (now under appeal) finding he engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct over the leaky house sale.
Queen's Service Medal recipient Davinder Rahal's company is in liquidation owing $4 million and a finance company is chasing him for $180,000 owed on luxury 2015 Rolls-Royce Ghost. Photo / avisandhu_official
Rahal did not respond to requests for comment prior to last week’s story being published.
However, a day after publication, RNZ ran an interview with Rahal claiming he had been threatened by a gang member at his Manukau house in a terrifying incident last week.
Indian singing star Malkit Singh (wearing a yellow turban) is picked up by Davinder Rahal's Rolls-Royce Ghost after he arrived in New Zealand to perform in October 2023.
A finance company is chasing Queen's Service Medal recipient Davinder Rahal's company for $180,000 owed on his 2015 Rolls-Royce Ghost.
Rahal told the state broadcaster he was having dinner with his wife Jivan last Wednesday night when a man knocked on the door and threatened him in connection with a civil dispute involving a commercial building.
“When we opened the door, I instinctively sensed the individual was a gang member,” Rahal said. “After confirming my identity, he threatened [me] and told me to stay away from my tenant with whom I am having a dispute over unpaid liabilities.
“The individual told me I am interrupting their shared business, and, for my well-being, I shouldn’t interrupt it. I later noticed a gang patch on his jacket. He also had a hand hidden behind his back, which made me very nervous and uneasy.
“The man was repeatedly saying, ‘Stay away for your well-being’ in an aggressive and threatening manner until my wife took out her phone to record the incident.”
Rahal said the man then fled in a car with an accomplice and the couple called police.
In a statement to the Herald, police said they received a report of “a threat towards a person”.
“Inquiries are underway to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the incident.”
Davinder Rahal says Facebook comments on $8m in assets ‘lost in translation’
In a statement through his lawyer, Rahal said he was engaged in a dispute with a commercial tenant that was subject to private arbitration.
Commenting on the alleged gang incident, Rahal said the uninvited visitors tried to “dissuade” him from pursuing his arbitration claim.
“They physically intimidated and threatened my wife and me. The incident is now the subject of an ongoing police complaint.”
Davinder Singh Rahal resigned as a Justice of the Peace ahead of a Ministry of Justice probe into whether he was fit to continue holding JP warrants.
He confirmed making the Facebook post about his assets but said “proper context has been lost” during the translation process.
“The statement was intended as no more than an expression of pride at the successes I have worked so hard for in New Zealand over the past several decades.”
The Herald reported last month that Rahal resigned as a Justice of the Peace ahead of a Ministry of Justice probe into whether he was fit to continue holding JP warrants.
The Honours Unit is also assessing whether it is suitable for Rahal to hold a Queen’s Service Medal in light of the court findings.
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