 "Lottery company Future Gaming and mining giant Vedanta, which were among the top donors of electoral bonds, were under the scanner of the ED. File photo/PTI")
In a landmark verdict on 15 February, the Supreme Court declared electoral bonds “unconstitutional”. Now a month on, they continue to be in the spotlight. After the top court rap, the State Bank of India (SBI) furnished details about electoral bonds to the Election Commission, which uploaded the data on its website on Thursday. It has information on which political parties redeemed the electoral bonds, the donors and more.
It’s some of the top donors who are grabbing headlines today. Turns out, several have had their run-ins with the law – they have been under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Income Tax (I-T) department and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Of the top five donors of electoral bonds to political parties between 2019 and 2024, three companies faced probes from the ED and tax authorities. Of the top 30 donors, 14 were raided by probe agencies.
We take a look at some of the companies that purchased and donated poll bonds and their encounters with law enforcement agencies.
Future Gaming and Hotel Services
According to data published by the Election Commission, the top purchaser and donor of electoral bonds is lottery giant Future Gaming and Hotel Services. It made purchases worth Rs 1,368 crore between 2019 and 2024.
Based in Coimbatore, the company has a turnover of Rs 7,000 crore. It is headed by Martin Santiago , a labourer from Myanmar, who is now known as India’s “lottery king”.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsFuture Gaming has been under the radar of the ED, which began a money laundering probe against it in 2019. In July 2019, the enforcement agency had attached the company’s assets worth Rs 250 crore.
Santiago and his aides inflated prize-winning ticket claims, violated provisions of the Lottery Regulation Act, 1998, and made wrongful gains by cheating the Sikkim government, according to the ED. “Martin and his associates made illegal gain to the extent of Rs 910.3 crores on account of inflating the prize winning tickets claim for the period from 01.04.2009 to 31.08.2010,” it said in a statement on 22 July 2019, reports The Indian Express.
On 2 April 2022, further action was taken with the ED attaching movable assets worth Rs 409.92 crore in the case. Future Gaming bought Rs 100 crore in electoral bonds on 7 April 2022, five days after the ED move, the report says.
Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL)
The second largest buyer of electoral bonds is the Hyderabad-based Megha group of companies, which purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 1,186 crore between 2019 and 2024. It is helmed by business tycoon Krishna Reddy.
In October 2019, the Income Tax department raided multiple offices of Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) in Hyderabad and other cities. The ED has also started a probe.
Since then, the company has donated Rs 966 crore in electoral bonds, reports The Quint.
This business group has been involved in various projects of the Telangana government like the Kalewarama Dam Project. It is reportedly building the Zojila tunnel, which will establish all-weather connectivity between Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.
However, last year, the government rejected an investment proposal of Chinese electrical car marker BYD and its partner MEIL to set up an EV manufacturing plant in India, reports The Indian Express.
Also read: Why are electoral bonds contentious?
Vedanta Limited
Vedanta Limited, founded by businessman Anil Agarwal and headquartered in Mumbai, contributed Rs 386 crore to political parties through the bonds. It is the fifth largest donor, according to the data released by EC with the first trance published in April 2019.
In 2018, the ED claimed that it had evidence about Vedanta Group’s alleged involvement in a bribe-for-visa case where some Chinese nationals were given visas by allegedly violating rules. The authorities also raided a Vedanta Group company Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd (TSPL) in connection with a money laundering probe in August 2022.
Also read: Files in pen drive, password in envelope: How SBI submitted data on electoral bonds to EC
The other big names
Haldia Energy Limited, which is part of the Sanjiv Goenka group, bought electoral bonds worth Rs 395 crore. It faced action by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in March 2020.
Among the top donors appears the name DLF Commercial Developers Limited. The realty developer, which donated Rs 130 crore in electoral bonds, has faced probes by the CBI and ED.
CBI officials raided the company in January 2019 over alleged irregularities in land allocation. In November 2023, the ED searched its Gurugram offices in connection with an investigation against real estate firm Supertech, reports The Quint.
Jindal Steel and Power is among the top 15 donors of electoral bonds, having given Rs 123 crore to political parties. In April 2022, ED searched the premises of the firm in connection with a probe linked to the alleged violation of foreign exchange regulations.
Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Limited had made donations worth Rs 80 crore until last year. In November 2023, IT officials raided Dr K Nagender Reddy of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories over allegations of tax evasion. This was part of a larger operation, which involved searching the premises of Telangana education minister Sabitha Indra Reddy.
Aurobindo Pharma, which is embroiled in the Delhi liquor scam case, donated Rs 49 crore since 2019. In November 2022, the ED arrested Sarath Reddy, the director of the company in connection with a money-laundering case linked to the alleged scam.
With inputs from agencies