India's 'lottery king' emerges as top political donor in opaque system

NEW DELHI — India’s “lottery king”, accused by the authorities of fraud and money laundering, has emerged with his company as India’s top political donor under an opaque funding system that has just been partially opened to scrutiny.

Santiago Martin’s Future Gaming and Hotel Services spent 13.68 billion Indian rupees (S$221 million) between 2019 and 2024 — 40 per cent more than the next-highest donor — under the now-scrapped funding system, which allowed anonymous and unlimited donations to political parties, data showed on March 14.

The information, published by the election commission on the orders of India’s Supreme Court, shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party was the biggest overall recipient but does not detail which party any donor gave to.

Future Gaming did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment on its donations. Although the court found the “electoral bonds” system unconstitutional, there was no suggestion that the donations were improper.

The data on the defunct funding system draws attention to the chequered history of Martin, 59, who built a lottery-to-real estate empire up from selling lottery tickets as a teenager.

A flashy, smooth-talking figure who has made friends across the political spectrum, Martin has splurged on politicians, handing out expensive gifts as his business empire grew, according to local press accounts.

Over the years, the tax authorities, police and investigative agencies have searched his business premises and seized properties in connection with cases against him. His appeals against property seizures by the Enforcement Directorate, India’s financial crime agency, were dismissed in 2023.

The directorate filed a prosecution complaint in court in September