Assets worth about Rs 457 crore have been frozen in probe against "lottery king" Santiago Martin
Assets worth about Rs 457 crore have been frozen under the anti-money laundering law as part of an investigation against "lottery king" Santiago Martin in a case linked to alleged loss of over Rs 900 crore to the Sikkim government by fraudulent sale of the state lottery in Kerala, the Enforcement Directorate said on Monday.
The agency carried out fresh raids against Martin and his family members in Coimbatore and Chennai, and the official premises of a company called 'Future Gaming Solutions India Private Limited' in Coimbatore on May 11 and 12.
Future Gaming Solutions India Pvt Ltd is the master distributor of Sikkim lotteries and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating Martin, known as "lottery king" in Tamil Nadu since 2019.
The money laundering case stems from a CBI charge sheet filed against Martin and others for alleged offences relating to sale of lotteries of the Sikkim government in Kerala.
"Martin and his associate companies and entities made unlawful gains with a corresponding loss to the government of Sikkim to the extent of Rs 910 crore on account of inflating the prize winning tickets claim for the period from 01.04.2009 to 31.08.2010," the ED alleged in a statement.
Several investments of the group concerns (of Martin) like fixed deposits and mutual funds worth Rs 157.7 crore have been frozen under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and immovable property documents worth Rs 299.16 crore were seized, it said.
Thus, the ED said, properties worth about Rs 457 crore were unearthed as a result of search operations and they have been seized/freezed. Assets of Martin and those linked to him have been seized by the ED in the past too.
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