Lottery baron Martin, wife Leema Rose MLA and daughter move Madras High Court against ED action

The Madras High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in connection with 39 appeals challenging the attachment of assets valued at more than ₹900 crore in a money laundering investigation involving lottery businessman Santiago Martin and members of his family.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan directed ED Special Public Prosecutor N. Ramesh to receive notice on behalf of the agency. The court also took up interim petitions seeking a stay on the attachment proceedings.

The appeals have been filed by Santiago Martin, his wife and AIADMK MLA Leema Rose, their daughter, the wife of TVK leader Aadhav Arjuna, and several companies and entities linked to the Martin family. They are contesting a May 30, 2025 order of the Appellate Tribunal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which upheld the ED’s provisional attachment order dated June 9, 2023, as well as an earlier decision of the adjudicating authority confirming the attachment.

The ED’s case traces back to 2014, when it registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against Martin and others based on a CBI chargesheet. The chargesheet alleged that the Government of Sikkim suffered losses amounting to ₹910.29 crore.

According to the ED, the alleged loss was linked to the sale of lottery tickets in Kerala through the manipulation of prize-winning tickets. Between 2016 and 2023, the agency issued six provisional attachment orders covering assets worth ₹910.29 crore, which it identified as proceeds of crime.

In November 2023, the adjudicating authority confirmed the latest attachment order concerning properties valued at ₹456.84 crore. Subsequent challenges to that order were rejected by the Appellate Tribunal, leading to the present appeals before the High Court.