CHENNAI: The ED has provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs 173.48 crore belonging to ‘Lottery King’ Santiago Martin and others in the form of bank accounts and land for cheating the Sikkim government by inflating prize-winning lottery tickets.
The investigation was launched against Martin and others based on the charges filed by the CBI (Anti-Corruption Bureau, Kochi). During the investigation, it was found that the partners of MJ Associates—Santiago Martin and N Jayamurugan—made unlawful gains with a corresponding loss to the Sikkim government to the tune of over Rs 910.29 crore on account of inflating the prize-winning tickets claim from April 1, 2009 to August 31, 2010.
The ED said Martin and others invested the proceeds of crime they had earned from lottery business by floating various companies by joining with his family members to project them as untainted properties. So far, four provisional attachment orders have been issued for the attachment of properties worth Rs 278 crore.
Martin had maintained a credit balance of Rs 20.22 crore. In addition, the companies had acquired immovable properties worth Rs 153.26 crore, which are involved in money laundering and are liable for attachment.