The No. 1 purchaser of electoral bonds in the data released by the Election Commission Thursday evening is Future Gaming and Hotels run by Santiago Martin, a former labourer from Myanmar, who now goes by the moniker ‘Lottery Martin’. His firm bought bonds worth Rs 1,300 crore between 2019 and 2024.
While it is already known that the ruling BJP received the highest amount of donation of over Rs 6,000 crore followed by the Congress party, the data dump only disclosed the amount donated by each entity or individual. It does not say who donated to which party.
Based out of Coimbatore, Martin cashed in on the two-digit lottery craze to build his fortunes. According to Future's website, Martin started off in the lottery business at the age of 13, where "he had managed to develop and secure a vast marketing network of the buyers and sellers of lotteries all over India." In the south, the company operated under a subsidiary, Martin Karnataka, whereas in the north-east, it opened Martin Sikkim Lottery.
The company claims a workforce of over 1,000 employees across 13 states where lotteries are legal, namely Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim, and West Bengal. In Nagaland and Sikkim, Future is the sole distributor of the popular ‘Dear Lottery’.
Martin has had multiple run-ins with the law and is also under the scanner of multiple investigative agencies
In 2008, Martin came into spotlight for an alleged fraud of over Rs 4,500 crore against the Sikkim government. In 2011, he faced searches from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka police forces as part of a crackdown on illegal lottery businesses. In 2013, the Kerala police conducted raids on Martin’s premises as part of an investigation into illegal lottery operations in the state.
In 2015, the Income Tax Department raided Martin’s premises across various states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, on allegations of tax evasion and financial irregularities. In May 2023, the ED attached Martin's Rs 457 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with a case linked to the alleged loss of over Rs 900 crore to the Sikkim government.
His businesses expanded beyond lottery — Martin Homeopathy Medical College and Hospital near Coimbatore; SS Music, a television music channel; M and C Property Development; Martin Nanthavanam apartments; and Leema Real Estate Private Limited are reportedly owned by him.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear an application filed by the Election Commission seeking modification of the operative portion of its March 11 order in the electoral bonds case. The poll panel said the order had noted that copies of the documents submitted by it to the apex court in sealed cover during the course of hearing be maintained at the office of the Election Commission. The EC said it did not keep any copy of the documents and added that they may be returned so that it can comply with the court directions.
A separate petition filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms challenging the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from a panel for the selection of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners was also scheduled to come up for hearing on Friday.