Three out of the top five electoral bond contributors to political parties from 2019 to 2024 are businesses under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax authorities. These entities comprise lottery enterprise Future Gaming, infrastructure company Megha Engineering, and mining corporation Vedanta.
Money Laundering Probe: Future Gaming And Hotels Pvt Ltd
Topping the list of electoral bond purchasers, as per the Election Commission's data released on Thursday, is Future Gaming and Hotels Pvt Ltd, overseen by Santiago Martin. The lottery company has procured bonds amounting to Rs 1368 crore during the specified period between 2019-24.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) commenced a money laundering inquiry into Future Gaming in early 2019. By July of the same year, assets worth over Rs 250 crore belonging to the company had been seized. On April 2, 2022, movable assets valued at Rs 409.92 crore were attached in connection with the case.
Five days following the attachment of these assets, on April 7, Future Gaming purchased Rs 100 crore in electoral bonds.
The ED initiated an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Santiago Martin and his company M/s Future Gaming Solutions (P) Ltd (now known as M/s Future Gaming and Hotel Services (P) Ltd, previously known as Martin Lottery Agencies Ltd) based on a chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). According to the ED, Martin and others engaged in a criminal conspiracy to contravene the provisions of the Lottery Regulation Act, 1998 and unlawfully gain from deceiving the Sikkim Government.
"Martin and his associates illicitly gained to the tune of Rs 910.3 crore by inflating the prize-winning tickets claim for the period from 01.04.2009 to 31.08.2010," the ED stated in a release on July 22, 2019.
During the period from 2019 to 2024, the company procured its initial tranche of electoral bonds on October 21, 2020.
IT Raids: Megha Engineering And Infrastructures Ltd
The second-largest contributor to political parties is Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL), which has acquired bonds valued at Rs 1000 crore between 2019 and 2024. Under the leadership of Krishna Reddy, Megha Engineering is involved in significant projects for the Telangana government such as the Kaleswaram Dam project. Moreover, it is overseeing the construction of the Zojila tunnel and the Polavaram dam.
In October 2019, the Income Tax department conducted raids at the company's offices. Subsequently, an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate was also initiated. Interestingly, on April 12 of the same year, MEIL had acquired electoral bonds worth Rs 50 crore.
Last year, the government declined a $1-billion investment proposal from Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD and its Hyderabad-based partner MEIL to establish an electric vehicle manufacturing plant.
Bribe-For-Visa Case: Vedanta Group
Anil Aggarwal's Vedanta Group ranks as the fifth largest contributor, having acquired bonds valued at Rs 376 crore, with the initial tranche purchased in April 2019.
Significantly, in mid-2018, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claimed to possess evidence regarding Vedanta Group's alleged involvement in the bribe-for-visa case, where certain Chinese nationals were allegedly granted visas by bending rules.
A reference forwarded by the ED to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) culminated in a corruption case in 2022, prompting the ED to commence a money laundering probe. On April 16, 2019, Vedanta Ltd purchased bonds exceeding Rs 39 crore.
Over the subsequent four years, excluding the pandemic year of 2020, until November 2023, it procured bonds worth Rs 337 crore more, bringing the cumulative value of bonds purchased by Vedanta to over Rs 376 crore.
SBI Electoral Bond Data:
Piramal Enterprises Ltd., Muthoot Finance Limited, Pegasus Properties Private Limited, Finolex Cables Ltd., Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, Edelweiss Housing Finance Ltd., GHCL Ltd., Jindal Poly Films Limited, ITC Limited, Vedanta Limited, and Bharti Airtel Limited were among the major donors to political parties through electoral bonds.
List Of Donors To Political Parties: