New Delhi. After receiving the disclosure of electoral bonds from the State Bank of India (SBI), the Election Commission (EC) uploaded the complete list on its portal on Thursday, March 14, 2024. According to the list, Future Gaming and Hotel Services Pvt Ltd bought the highest number of bonds, amounting to around Rs 1,368 crore. The company is run by Santiago Martin, also known as the “Lottery King”.
According to Santiago Martín’s charitable trust website, his career began as a laborer in Yangon, Myanmar. In 1988, he returned to India and started a lottery business in Tamil Nadu. Later he expanded his business to Karnataka, Kerala, Bhutan and Nepal. In addition to the lottery business, Santiago Martín diversified into construction, real estate, textiles, hospitality, and other ventures. He is also the President of the All India Federation of Lottery Trade and Allied Industries, which strives to promote and enhance the credibility of the lottery trade in India.
Since 2019, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been investigating a case related to alleged violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by Santiago Martin’s company. Raids were conducted in Coimbatore and Chennai in May 2023. According to officials familiar with the matter, the ED investigation is based on a complaint by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleging that the company had sold lottery tickets to the Sikkim government in Kerala. The ED has leveled serious charges against Santiago Martin and his companies, accusing them of inflating claims for prize-winning tickets from April 2009 to August 2010, causing a loss of Rs 910 crore to Sikkim.
As for company donations, Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd donated ₹966 crore, according to data provided by the poll panel. The Hyderabad-based company is currently working on several core infrastructure projects. Besides, companies that bought electoral bonds include SpiceJet, IndiGo, Grasim Industries, Megha Engineering, Piramal Enterprises, Torrent Power, Bharti Airtel, DLF Commercial Developers, Vedanta Ltd, Apollo Tyres, Edelweiss, PVR and many others.