CHENNAI: The Enforcement Directorate’s searches at 22 premises linked to lottery baron Santiago Martin across six states, including TN, last week led to recovery and seizure of Rs 12.41 crore unexplained cash and freezing of bank deposits of Rs 6.42 crore, the agency said on Monday.
Various digital devices, incriminating documents, records of huge investment in immovable properties in Coimbatore Chennai, Mumbai, Dubai and London and huge investments in share markets were found, the agency said in a release.
Searches were held in connection with an investigation against Martin and his entity M/s Future Gaming and Hotel Services Private Limited and other associates. Four printing presses where lottery tickets have been printed were also covered by the operation.
ED initiated the investigation based on an FIR registered by Meghalaya Police on complaint by the Director of Meghalaya State Lottery and Kerala Police FIRs taken over by the CBI.
The main allegations against the group are that they illegally captured the lottery market by not allowing others to operate, selling fake lottery tickets, manipulating winning prizes and purchasing big prize winning tickets against cash payment for converting black money into white leading to huge loss to the exchequer and general public.
The agency’s investigation has further found that over 90% of the business of the company is in the lottery tickets with face value of Rs 6 against which most of the prizes are below Rs 10,000 which is non-taxable. No proper record is maintained by the company regarding prize winners or sold and unsold tickets.
Lottery schemes are designed by the company in such a way that substantial profit goes to the company and the organising state gets a very small portion of revenue. The searches were conducted in West Bengal, Karnataka, UP, Meghalaya and Punjab apart from TN.
In the previous probe in the matter in ED’s Kochi zone, it was found that Martin and his company had acquired around Rs 920 crore in lottery business from proceeds of crime.