Sippy Grewal lives a double life. Both seem to be the stuff of fantasy.
Grewal, a 53-year-old Indian Punjabi-language movie producer, likes to present the facade of glamour: Bentleys, private jets and film premieres – he even has a Wikipedia page with his filmography.
Then there’s his network of Sydney home-building companies under the banner of Alaxia Group. The website claims his Baulkham Hills-based company will “bring your dreams to reality”.
His clients are instead mired in a nightmare.
An investigation into Grewal and his string of building companies reveals half-finished homes, some with serious defects, years-long delays on builds, and clients’ allegations of repeated requests for cash injections only to have promised work not delivered.
Nine of his clients spoke to the Herald, some on the condition of anonymity due to ongoing legal proceedings.
A third-party construction inspection undertaken in September and obtained by the Herald found one unfinished home in Austral had either highly substandard and/or non-compliant work in the termite barrier, paint finish, brickwork, part of the lower roof areas and windows.
“In my professional opinion most areas of substandard workmanship will need to be demolished and rebuilt,” the consultant said of the brickwork.
Three weeks before, a 120-page report on a Leppington property made similar findings of major defects and suspected non-compliance.
Grewal is already grappling with regulatory and legal troubles.
His banner company Alaxia Group is composed of five subsidiary firms. The licence for one firm, Adelson Home Improvements (trading as Alaxia Smart Home), was cancelled on July 2; another, Eco Smart Builders, was suspended in June.
In August, then Building Commissioner David Chandler described one build undertaken by Grewal as “the purchaser’s nightmare”.
“Still a nightmare ahead for these poor customers. The shocking standard of work on the buildings mentioned in the video needs to be seen to be believed,” Chandler wrote.
Despite his chequered compliance record, three building companies with ties or past ties to Grewal continue to operate: Alaxia Builders, Alaxia Solar (trading as Alaxia Built) and Smart Home Builders.
Grewal was successfully sued for failing to repay a $190,000 loan in April. He is appealing the decision.
Grewal’s business partner, Sukha Lohat, rejected the allegations. He blamed soaring construction costs, saying Alaxia Group was losing $120,000 on each house. Clients, who he said called him “24/7” were “breaching the contract” by going onto sites without permission, he reported.
The cancellation of Adelson Home Improvements’ building licence was not because of a “technical fault”, Lohat said, but because a supervisor’s resignation meant he was unable to supply the Building Commission with information in time.
All nine clients who spoke to the Herald said although Grewal was not listed as the director or licensee, he acted as the primary decision maker and point of contact throughout their construction.
Grewal flaunts the trimmings of status and wealth. Facebook and Instagram have numerous posts of him sipping champagne on a private jet; another on his wife Kamal’s profile show the pair in October 2022 buying a $400,000-plus Bentley Bentayga SUV.
In another post in August 2023, Grewal poses with his brother Gippy, a celebrated Indian actor, singer and film director, alongside a yellow Lamborghini.
Homeowner Pratap Chitrakar’s experience with Grewal began when his build in Austral started in 2021. Three years later, he estimates his home is only 70 per cent completed despite written commitments from his agent in November 2022 that the completion date would be February 24, 2023.
“Please be ensured that we will leave no stone unturned to make this happen on a given time,” states the email from Rising Property Solutions principal Ram Mohan on September 14.
Mohan was contacted for comment.
Now Chitrakar claims he cannot reach Grewal on the phone to terminate his contract. He recently engaged Jim’s Building Inspections to review the incomplete build. Jim’s found an estimated 850 defects, while the risk of undetected defects was “high”, the September 13 report said.
“In summary, the building, compared to others of similar age and construction is in poor condition with safety hazards identified. Major and minor defects were also found.”
The inspection occurred three years after construction began because Grewal allegedly told Chitrakar and other clients third-party independent inspectors were barred from visiting properties as per the terms of their contracts.
“Only the clients are allowed to inspect the property at the construction stages by appointment only,” one email from an Alaxia employee in 2022 states.
In a statement provided in response to questions, Grewal and Lohat said they “categorically deny any allegations of wrongdoing or failure to meet our contractual obligations”.
“While we have faced challenges common to the construction industry, we remain fully committed to completing all projects to the highest standards of quality and compliance,” the pair wrote.
“We operate with transparency and integrity across all our business entities. We maintain open lines of communication with our clients and are dedicated to addressing their concerns promptly and professionally.”
Kenny Cheng has moved in to his Tallawong property, but only after taking Grewal and his company, Eco Smart Builders Pty Ltd, to the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal. A judgment in January awarded him $15,700 in liquated damages for delays totalling 368 working days.
“My family has had to rent for an additional 1.5 years unnecessarily along with other inconveniences caused by your team. We are giving you one more opportunity to think very carefully with your next response with a reasonable amount offered by Eco Smart Builders,” Cheng emailed Sukha Lohat on April 4.
Cheng never received the money he was owed, despite obtaining a garnish order in June: Commonwealth Bank reported there were insufficient funds in the firm’s bank account. At the same time, Grewal through Alaxia Group was promoting the coming tour of Babbu Maan, an esteemed Punjabi singer.
Cheng questioned why a building company was in the business of promoting movies and musical acts at all.!
“Building Commission NSW suspended the licence of Eco Smart Builders Pty Ltd on 26 June 2024 and it is investigating the conduct of other companies linked to Mr Grewal and Mr Lohat,” a spokeswoman for the building commission said.
“The commission is cracking down on builders who don’t do the right thing by consumers. We are uplifting quality and capability in the building sector to drive greater accountability in the industry.”
Australian wanted by FBI over alleged $46 million scam arrested in Italy
Josephine McKenna
Rome: Italian police have arrested an Australian man wanted by US investigators for his alleged involvement in an international computer scam which defrauded the elderly and other vulnerable victims of up to $US31 million ($46 million).
The 44-year-old man, who has not yet been named and only identified by police as “an Italo-Australian”, had been wanted by police for more than three years.
He was arrested sted by border police at Malpensa Airport in Milan after he landed on a flight from Singapore on Friday.
“The charges relate to a scam, dating back some time, that affected a large number of people, especially the elderly and the particularly frail,” Italian police said in a statement.
Interpol alerted airport police on the suspect’s movements and his potential transit through Italy.
Border police acted on an arrest warrant issued by the North Carolina District Court following a lengthy investigation into the online scam by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and experts from Italy’s cyber police at the Italian Embassy in Washington D.C. He was arrested as soon as he disembarked from his international flight.
“As well as identifying the perpetrators of the serious cyber fraud conducted on a global scale, the FBI investigation also quantified by as much as $US31 million, the illicit profits made from the activities of the cybercriminal organisation to which he belonged,” police said.
According to Italian police, the criminal gang managed to penetrate the security system of unsuspecting victims. An error message would appear on the victims’ computer screen informing them that their device had been compromised, and they were then urged to contact a particular call centre for technical assistance.
“The victim was invited to make a payment for technical assistance, without obtaining any result,” police said.
t is unclear how many victims were targeted by the scam or in which countries they resided, apart from the United States.
At the time of his arrest at Malpensa, the Australian was carrying several thousand euros in cash, several computers, credit cards and two watches of significant value, police said.
He was transferred to Busto Arsizio prison, 35 kilometres north of Milan, and is expected to appear before a magistrate within 48 hours before a formal request is made for his extradition to the US to face charges of computer fraud, damaging computer security and money laundering.
Under US law, the man could face up 30 years in prison if found guilty of defrauding more than 10 victims over the age of 55.
In July, Italian police arrested another alleged cybercriminal wanted by the FBI as part of ongoing cooperation between Italy and the US.
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