From his cell in a high-security Indian prison, Lawrence Bishnoi allegedly commands an empire.

His throne room is a concrete box; his scepter a smartphone smuggled in to his confines. From there, the 32-year-old kingpin stands accused of threatening a Bollywood superstar, murdering a pop icon, and orchestrating a political assassination halfway across the world.

Light-skinned with a thick mustache and a cold gaze, Bishnoi has long been accused by India’s top investigative body, the National Investigation Agency, of commanding a fearsome network of more than 700 members from behind bars, where he faces a litany of charges from criminal conspiracy and extortion, to murder and terror activities.

Then last month he became the face of a designated terrorist entity in Canada – after Ottawa accused India of using his gang to carry out crimes against Sikh dissidents on Canadian soil.

That designation elevated Bishnoi from being one of India’s most famous mob bosses – and a household name in his homeland – to an internationally wanted kingpin.

“Specific communities have been targeted for terror, violence and intimidation by the Bishnoi Gang. Listing this group of criminal terrorists gives us more powerful and effective tools to confront and put a stop to their crimes,” Canada’s Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree said in a statement Monday.

Bishnoi denies many of the charges and accusations against him, and his lawyer told CNN that they will need to investigate Canada’s latest allegations.

CNN has contacted Sabarmati jail in the western state of Gujarat where Bishnoi is currently held but did not receive a response.

New Delhi has not publicly commented on the designation, which comes as the two countries work to repair ties after y