Electoral bonds top buyers: ‘Lottery King’ Martin Santiago No.1 with Rs 1,368 crore

Coimbatore-based “lottery king” Santiago Martin has the dubious distinction of being the highest purchaser of electoral bonds in the country, having bought ₹1,368 crore, according to the data released by the Election Commission.

The lottery baron, who was investigated multiple times by the Enforcement Directorate and faced several criminal cases in the past, heads Future Gaming and Hotel Private Limited which bought the bonds. He seems to have bought the bonds through three companies with similar-sounding names. Martin’s company alone has accounted for one-tenth of the total electoral bonds purchased during the period April 12, 2019 to February 15, 2024 – ₹12,155 crore.

Besides lottery, Santiago Martin has interests in real estate, hospitality, and textiles in India and Myanmar, according to the website of Martin Charitable Trust.

Following are the top buyers of the scrapped electoral bonds, the data for which was released by the Election Commission on Thursday (March 14).

* Future Gaming and Hotel Services - Rs 1,368 crore

* Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd - Rs 966 crore

* Qwik Supply Chain Private Ltd - Rs 410 crore

* Vedanta Ltd - Rs 400 crore

* Haldia Energy Ltd - Rs 377 crore

* Bharati Group - Rs 247 crore

* Essel Mining and Industries Ltd - Rs 224 crore

* Western UP Power Transmission - Rs 220 crore

* Keventer Foodpark Infra Ltd - Rs 194 crore

* Madanlal Ltd - Rs 185 crore

* DLF Group - Rs 170 crore

* Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital - Rs 162 crore

* Utkal Alumina International - Rs 145.3 crore

* Jindal Steel and Power Ltd - Rs 123 crore

* Birla Carbon India - Rs 105 crore

* Rungta Sons - Rs 100 crore

* Dr Reddy's - Rs 80 crore

* Piramal Enterprises Group - Rs 60 crore

* Navyuga Engineering - Rs 55 crore

* Shirdi Sai Electricals - Rs 40 crore

* Edelweiss Group - Rs 40 crore

* Cipla Ltd - Rs 39.2 crore

* Lakshmi Niwas Mittal - Rs 35 crore

* Grasim Industries -Rs 33 crore

* Jindal Stainless - Rs 30 crore

* Bajaj Auto -Rs 25 crore

* Sun Pharma Laboratories - Rs 25 crore

* Mankind Pharma - Rs 24 crore

* Bajaj Finance - Rs 20 crore

* Maruti Suzuki India - Rs 20 crore

* Ultratech - Rs 15 crore

* TVS Motors - Rs 10 crore

(With agency inputs)