OTTAWA—A lawyer speaking for Raj Grewal says the Brampton East MP wants to clarify it was “only” his family that helped pay back money he borrowed to fuel his gambling problem.

The lawyer’s statement comes in the wake of questions prompted by Grewal’s 11-minute video statement last Friday, in which the 33-year-old politician describes how his “mental health issue with gambling” drove him into millions of dollars in debt and prompted him to borrow money “solely” from family and friends.

He said these loans are completely traceable and that “everybody has been paid back.”

That raised questions from NDP MP Nathan Cullen about how Grewal managed to repay the money he borrowed if he was already millions in debt.

Joel Etienne, a lawyer responding to questions the Star sent to Grewal’s personal parliamentary email account, responded that the MP wanted to clarify the record.

“Mr. Grewal borrowed solely from friends and family and moneys were repaid back only by family,” Etienne said.

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He said this money was repaid before Grewal met with the Prime Minister’s Office on Nov. 19 to disclose his gambling problem. Grewal said in his video statement that he first came to his family about his “mental health issue” with gambling on Nov. 5.

“This is now a private personal family matter,” Etienne said.

Reached for comment Wednesday, Cullen said Grewal’s clarification doesn’t dispel all his questions. He said his concern centres on whether Grewal, in taking loans to fuel his gambling, exposed himself as an elected MP to the potential influence of his creditors — something akin to an MP taking outsized campaign contributions from certain individuals.

“If the argument is the money was secured by the parents or a sibling, because of the quantity of the money we’re talking about, the same concerns remain,” he said.

“I can’t imagine that would be enough to avoid the same red flags.”

Last week, Cullen and NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus asked Parliament’s ethics commissioner, Mario Dion, to launch a new investigation into Grewal’s conduct as an MP. During question period Thursday, Angus said Dion confirmed he is willing to look into whether Grewal misused his position on the House of Commons finance committee when he asked officials how they investigate cases of money laundering.

While Grewal’s questions at the committee were the subject of their request for an investigation, both MPs have also pointed to a section in the ethics code for MPs that calls on members to “avoid real or apparent conflicts of interest” and to “not accept any gift or benefit connected with their position that might reasonably be seen to compromise their personal judgment or integrity.”

Dion’s spokesperson Jocelyne Brisebois declined to confirm whether the commissioner will launch a new investigation because she “cannot discuss specific cases.”

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Grewal, a former Bay St. lawyer, was first elected as a Liberal MP in 2015. He came to national prominence last spring, when he invited the head of a Brampton construction company that paid him for legal work to events with high-ranking officials during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s controversial visit to India. Dion is already investigating whether Grewal breached Parliament’s conflict of interest and ethics code by inviting the executive to events during the trip.

Months later, on Nov. 22, Grewal unexpectedly announced he would step down as Brampton East MP for “personal and medical reasons.” The PMO revealed the next day that Grewal told the office he had a gambling problem that drove him into significant debt. The office also said the RCMP made inquiries about ethics investigation into Grewal’s conduct during the India trip.

In the following days, the Globe and Mail reported Grewal’s gambling transactions were picked up by Fintrac, the agency responsible for tracking potential money laundering, and that the MPs activity was flagged to the RCMP. The Canadian Press also reported that Ontario Provincial Police heard talk of Grewal’s gambling debts on wire taps during a broader investigation into suspected money laundering.

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Neither police force will confirm the reports or say whether it is investigating Grewal.

Trudeau, however, has said the RCMP is trying to answer “a lot of questions” about Grewal in order to get a complete understanding of the situation.

Late Friday night, Grewal broke his silence amidst the revelations by releasing a detailed video statement in which he said he would reconsider his initial decision to resign as an MP, but that he would leave the Liberal caucus while he seeks treatment for his gambling problem.