Rs 12.41 crore seized in ED raids in probe against 'lottery king' Santiago Martin
The operation, part of a money laundering investigation, spanned 22 locations across Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya and Punjab.
by Munish Chandra Pandey · India TodayIn Short
- Searches covered 22 locations across six states
- Madras High Court allowed probe against Martin
- Martin linked to Rs 1,300 crore political donations via electoral bonds
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) seized Rs 12.41 crore in cash and froze Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDR) worth Rs 6.42 crore on Monday during searches at premises linked to Santiago Martin, the Chennai-based businessman known as the 'lottery king'.
The operation, part of a money laundering investigation, spanned 22 locations across Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya and Punjab, targeting Martin, his son-in-law Aadhav Arjun, and their associates.
The investigation intensified after the Madras High Court allowed the agency to proceed against him, overturning a lower court's acceptance of a closure report by Tamil Nadu Police.
Martin, previously identified as the largest donor to political parties through now-scrapped electoral bonds worth Rs 1,300 crore, has been under ED scrutiny since 2019 for alleged lottery fraud and illegal sales.
The development comes days after the ED had seized Rs 8.8 crore in raids at corporate offices linked to Martin. The raids spanned 20 locations across several states.
In 2023, the ED attached Rs 457 crore worth of assets linked to Martin, citing a Rs 900 crore loss to the Sikkim government from fraudulent lottery sales in Kerala. His company, Future Gaming Solutions India Pvt. Ltd., is the master distributor of Sikkim lotteries.