Enforcement Directorate Seizes ₹8.8 Crore in Raids on ‘Lottery King’ Santiago Martin’s Offices

In a major crackdown, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seized ₹8.8 crore from the corporate office of Santiago Martin, known as Tamil Nadu’s ‘lottery king,’ in Chennai. The raids were part of a money laundering investigation and involved searches across 20 premises linked to Martin, his son-in-law Aadhav Arjun, and their associates in multiple cities including Chennai, Coimbatore, Faridabad, Ludhiana, and Kolkata.

Officials revealed that Martin, who gained attention for being one of the largest political donors through now-discontinued electoral bonds, has been under the ED’s radar for years. He reportedly purchased over ₹1,300 crore in electoral bonds between 2019 and 2024.

The ED’s actions followed a decision by the Madras High Court, which recently permitted the agency to continue its probe against Martin. This came after Tamil Nadu Police closed their initial case against him. The ED has previously attached assets worth ₹457 crore related to a separate case involving an alleged ₹900 crore loss to the Sikkim government due to fraudulent lottery sales in Kerala.

Martin’s company, Future Gaming Solutions India Pvt. Ltd., is a key distributor of Sikkim lotteries. The ongoing investigation extends to his other ventures, including Martin Builders Pvt. Ltd. and Daison Land and Development Pvt. Ltd., for allegedly acquiring properties through questionable financial transactions.

News Source : “Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.”