Days after the State Bank of India provided the information following the Supreme Court’s rap, the Election Commission on Thursday made public the list of organizations that bought electoral bonds to donate to political causes. “Lottery King” Santiago Martin runs a company called Future Gaming and Hotel Services Private Limited, which contributed the most money.
“Santiago Martin: From Laborer to Lottery Tycoon and Allegations of Financial Irregularities”
According to Santiago Martin’s charitable trust website, he began working as a laborer in Yangon, Myanmar. He went back to India in 1988 and opened a lottery in Tamil Nadu. After that, he grew the company in Kerala and Karnataka before relocating to the northeast.
He started out in the northeast managing government lottery schemes. Later on, he established companies in Nepal and Bhutan to expand his business offshore.
According to the website, he later expanded into other industries like hospitality, textiles, real estate, and construction.
Also Read: ECI files SC Motion to get Electoral Bonds Case’s sealed documents
In addition, he serves as President of the All India Federation of Lottery Trade and Allied Industries, a group dedicated to promoting and legitimizing the lottery industry in India. The website states that “Under his direction, Future Gaming Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. expanded into the sports betting and online gaming industries and joined the esteemed World Lottery Association.”
From 2019 to 2024, Future Gaming and Hotel Services Private Limited made donations totaling ₹1368 crore.
Since 2019, the Enforcement Directorate has been looking into claims that the company violated PMLA law. In May 2023, they had conducted raids in Chennai and Coimbatore.
The Central Bureau of Investigation’s charge sheet, which claimed the company sold lotteries from the Sikkim government in Kerala, is the foundation for the ED investigation.
According to the agency, Martin and his businesses caused Sikkim to suffer a loss of ₹910 crore “by inflating the prize-winning tickets claim from April 2009 to August 2010.”
Also Read: Lottery King’s Future Gaming and Hotel Services Donated INR 1368 Crores in Electoral Bonds
“Major Donors and Buyers of Electoral Bonds Revealed by Poll Panel Data”
BIG BREAKING: Publish electoral bond data that discloses link between political parties, donors: Supreme court to SBI#SBI #ElectionCommission #ElectoralBonds #PowerCorridors pic.twitter.com/SqPM13iV1j
— POWER CORRIDORS (@power_corridors) March 15, 2024
₹966 crore was donated by Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd. The Hyderabad-based business is now engaged in a number of infrastructure projects.
Spicejet, IndiGo, Grasim Industries, Megha Engineering, Piramal Enterprises, Torrent Power, Bharti Airtel, DLF Commercial Developers, Vedanta Ltd., Apollo Tyres, Edelweiss, PVR, Keventer, Sula Wines, Welspun, Sun Pharma, Vardhman Textiles, Jindal Group, Phillips Carbon Black Limited, CEAT tyres, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, IT, Kaypee Enterprises, Cipla, and Ultratech Cement were among the buyers of electoral bonds, according to the data uploaded by the poll panel.
