On Thursday (14th March), it came to light that Future Gaming and Hotel Services, owned by scam-tainted Santiago Martin, made the largest political donation of ₹1,368 crore through electoral bonds in the past 5 years.
The data was made public by the Election Commission of India (ECI). At the same time, it was revealed that the West Bengal-based Trinamool Congress (TMC) party had encashed bonds totalling ₹1,609 crore.
As early as September 2021, there were doubts about the possible ‘funding’ of TMC by Future Gaming and Hotel Services. ‘Journalist’ Rohini Singh had tweeted, “A tainted lottery mafia and a regional party. Interesting times ahead.”
A tainted lottery mafia and a regional party. Interesting times ahead.
— Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) September 8, 2021
Later in December 2021, she tweeted, “Forget Adani and Ambani. The man to watch out for is lottery king Santiago Martin and who all he funds. Interesting times ahead in Indian politics.”
A report by G2G News stated that Future Gaming and Hotel Services had paid ₹12000 crores in Goods and Services Tax (GST) in West Bengal between 2017 and 2021.
“Future Gaming is one of the prompt taxpayers in the country. By paying huge taxes on time, every time, its contribution towards building a stronger nation is commendable,” it quoted from the entity’s website.
'Future gaming ' is the largest donor of electoral bonds
— Subham. (@subhsays) March 15, 2024
Owner -lottery king Martin.
Future is the sole distributor of the popular ‘Dear Lottery’, popular in WB.
Between Jan 2022- 2023 TMC leader Anubrata Mondal and his daughter won the dear lottery 5 times (both jailed now ) pic.twitter.com/74fP5RlfvH
Santiago Martin, also known as ‘lottery king’, has been running lotteries in several States of India including the Mamata Banerjee-ruled West Bengal. Coincidentally, several TMC Ministers have been the direct beneficiaries of the lottery prize money.
In November 2022, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) informed that ) informed that Trinamool Congress (TMC) Minister Anubrata Mondal and his daughter had won the lottery 5 times in three years.
According to the central agency, proceeds from cattle smuggling were laundered through lottery draws. A probe into the matter revealed that a lottery company transferred ₹50 lakhs to the bank account of Anubrata’s daughter Sukanya in 2020.
She had previously won a lottery in 2019. The CBI also found that money from two other lottery wins were transferred by a lottery company to her bank account.
Coincidentally, TMC Minister Anubrata Mondal had himself won ₹1 crore lottery in December 2021. At that time, it was claimed that the ticket was ‘purchased’ by one of his bodyguards at his behest.
CBI’s probe into the matter revealed that he won ₹10 lakhs from another lottery in 2019 as well. The company had transferred the money directly to his account.
According to a report by The Print, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a chargesheet in May 2023 and stated that Sukanya Mondal laundered the proceeds of cattle smuggling by buying ‘winning lottery tickets’ in cash.
“The ED also claimed that in order to launder the proceeds of the crime, Mondal would, through a deal with a lottery agency in Bolpur, purchase winning lottery tickets. The chargesheet said that according to their arrangement, the lottery agency would inform Mondal about the winners of heavy prizes in lieu of some commission,” the report stated.
Anubrata Mondal was arrested by the central agency in November 2022 while his daughter Sukanya was arrested in April 2023.
2022 October – wife of TMC JORANSAKO MLA and TMC ex RS MP Vivek Gupta wins First prize of Dear lottery.
— Subham. (@subhsays) March 15, 2024
Wife of a sitting MLA and ex MP is trying her luck buying lottery that too DEAR LOTTERY?🥱🤔. pic.twitter.com/MlIz93rWze
Interestingly, the wife of TMC MLA (Jorasanko constituency) Vivek Gupta, Ruchika, also managed to win a whopping sum of ₹1 crore from a weekly draw of ‘Dear Lottery’ held on 31st August 2020.
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari had also previously lashed out at this ‘miraculous scheme’ of TMC leaders and their family members winning the lottery.
“It’s an easy way to launder money. Common people buy tickets but TMC leaders win bumper prize. First Anubrata Mondal won the jackpot & now TMC MLA Vivek Gupta’s wife has won 1 crore,” he said in a tweet in October 2022.
I've been saying this all along, that Dear (Bhaipo) Lottery & TMC have a tangled relationship. It's an easy way to launder money.
— Suvendu Adhikari (Modi Ka Parivar) (@SuvenduWB) October 27, 2022
Common people buy tickets but TMC leaders win bumper prize. First Anubrata Mondal won the jackpot & now TMC MLA Vivek Gupta's wife has won 1 crore: pic.twitter.com/owtdGOk6xD
A month later, he informed that the lotteries had stopped posting pictures of the winners since they happened to be Trinamool Congress politicians.
“Seems like publishing the images of TMC leaders as winners on the bulletins has cost Dear Lottery “dearly” !!! That’s why the identity of the winners is missing from the latest bulletins,” Suvdneu Adhikari tweeted.
Seems like publishing the images of TMC leaders as winners on the bulletins has cost Dear Lottery "dearly" !!!
— Suvendu Adhikari (Modi Ka Parivar) (@SuvenduWB) November 8, 2022
That's why the identity of the winners is missing from the latest bulletins:-@dir_ed pic.twitter.com/wxCIDtw5wC
OpIndia has recently reported about the ties of Santiago Martin with the Congress, Dravida Munnertra Kazagham and the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
ED and IT Dept recovered ₹100 crores from Martin in 2015
Interestingly, the operations of Santiago Martin and the operations of his firm ‘Future Gaming and Hotel Services’ in West Bengal have been under the radar of the ED and the Income Tax Department for a long time.
In September 2015, the central agencies raided his offices in Siliguri and recovered over ₹100 crores. They discovered ₹1000 notes stashed in trolley bags and gunny bags.
The ED and IT Department teams recovered ₹54 crores from a house rented by Santiago Martin and ₹21 crores from another house in Siliguri. They also seized ₹29 crores in cash during the raids in Siliguri.
It was suspected that the money was brought to West Bengal first and would later have been sent to Bihar to influence the 2015 Vidhan Sabha elections.
