Madras HC issues notice to ED on appeals by ‘Lottery King’ Santiago Martin family asset attachment

The case goes back to the FIRs registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in 2014, on the illegal sale of Sikkim state lottery in Kerala and causing a loss of revenue of `910.29 crore to Sikkim, under sections 120 (B), 420 IPC and 4 (d) (f), 7 (3) and 9 of Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 and Rules 3 (5) and 4 (5) of the Lotteries (Regulation) Rules, 2010.

The proceeds of crime was alleged to have been generated through fraudulently inflating the prize-winning ticket claims on Sikkim lottery sold in Kerala.

Based on the CBI FIRs, the ED registered the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) on August 19, 2014.

The appeals alleged the ED had gone beyond its jurisdiction to investigate the predicate offence which is within the exclusive domain of CBI that registered the FIRs.

The predicate offence in the CBI chargesheet pertains only to alleged manipulation involving first and second prize-winning tickets. However, the ED had gone beyond the scope by examining claims below Rs 5,000 which were not part of the scheduled offence.