Chennai: The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted fresh raids in multiple states in connection with a money laundering investigation against Chennai-based ‘lottery king’ Santiago Martin, reports claimed.
Martin had made headlines earlier this year for being the single biggest donor to political parties with over Rs 1,300 crore in electoral bonds. According to reports, his contributions exceeded Rs 1,300 crore between 2019 and 2024.
On Thursday, sources revealed that at least 20 premises linked to Martin, his son-in-law Aadhav Arjun and associates in Chennai and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, Faridabad in Haryana, Ludhiana in Punjab and Kolkata in West Bengal were being raided as part of a ‘comprehensive’ action.
Why is Martin facing investigation?
The lottery baron is facing ED investigation in a money laundering case after the Madras High Court recently allowed the central agency to proceed against him as the Tamil Nadu Police had decided to close the primary FIR against him and a few others. The police’s plea of closing the FIR was accepted by a lower court.
The ED has taken cognisance of a clutch of police FIRs against Martin to start the latest action for lottery ‘fraud’ and ‘illegal’ sale of lottery. The agency had searched his premises in the past as well.
Last year, the ED had attached assets worth about Rs 457 crore in a case against Martin linked to an alleged loss of over Rs 900 crore to the Sikkim government by fraudulent sale of the state lottery in Kerala, the Times Now reported.
The ED has been investigating Martin since 2019.
Know the lottery baron’s rags-to-riches story:
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