ED attaches Rs119 cr worth properties of ‘Lottery King’

The case pertains to Sikkim Lottery Scam in which Martin and his associates alleged made illegal profits of Rs910.3 crore by allegedly cheating the state government.

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday provisionally attached immovable properties of Santiago Martin, who is known as lottery king, worth Rs119 crores in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the agency said. The properties include flats and plots, the ED added.

Enforcement Directorate provisionally attached the immovable properties of Santiago Martin worth Rs119 crores in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The case pertains to Sikkim Lottery Scam in which Martin and his associates alleged made illegal profits of Rs910.3 crore between April 2009 and August 2010 by allegedly cheating the state government.

Martin and his associates signed an agreement with officials in Sikkim in violation of existing rules to practically run the Sikkim State Lottery and avoid the remittance of the face value of the lottery tickets to the government. They also inflated the claims of prize-winning tickets, the ED said in a press release.

The ED initiated investigation against Martin and his firm after the CBI registered a case and filed a charge sheet.