Kerala lottery scam: ED attaches Rs 173 crore worth assets of Santiago Martin, business partners

The attached assets include movable properties in the form of bank accounts and lands located in various parts of Tamil Nadu belonging to Martin and his business partners.
Lottery King Santiago Martin (File photo| EPS)
Lottery King Santiago Martin (File photo| EPS)

KOCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) probing the money laundering aspect in the lottery scam has attached properties worth Rs 173 crore belonging to prime accused Santiago Martin and his associate companies.

The attached assets include movable properties in the form of bank accounts and lands located in various parts of Tamil Nadu belonging to Martin and his business partners. The ED initiated an investigation under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Launder Act (PMLA) after the CBI Anti-Corruption Unit in Kochi filed a chargesheet against Martin in the lottery scam.

According to a release, an investigation revealed that partners of MJ AssociatesMartin and N Jayamurugan made an illegal gain, with a corresponding loss to the tune of Rs 910.29 crore to the Sikkim government, by inflating the claim amounts of prize-winning tickets between April 2009 and August 2010, which is a crime under various sections of PMLA.

Martin and others have invested parts of the proceeds in immovable properties by floating various companies. So far, four provisional orders have been issued for the attachment of properties worth Rs 278 crore, the release said.

According to the ED, Martin had maintained a credit balance of Rs 20.22 crore in his various bank accounts. This apart, the companies have acquired immovable properties worth Rs 153.26 crore with the loans and advances given by Martin and his family members to launder proceeds of the crime, which amount to Rs 910.29 crore.

A further investigation is in progress and attempts are made to identify more movable and immovable properties acquired by Martin, his family members and business partners, the release said.

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