NEW DELHI: Lottery king Santiago Martin, real estate major DLF, Vedanta, Jindal Steel and Power and pharmaceutical players Aurobindo Pharma are among the companies currently facing probe by ED and income tax department, while also figuring on the list of electoral bond buyers – something cited by opposition parties to accuse BJP of weaponising central agencies to extract campaign contributions.
The list also includes Megha Engineering and Infrastructures, a prominent donor which is also being investigated by the tax authorities.
A perusal of the list of donors shows that many of the donors who have not been under the scanner, as well as those facing probes, have been making donations in the pre-EB days as well.
Moreover, it may be difficult to establish a direct link between a probe and donations to BJP or any party. Bond purchases of Rs 150 crore by Santiago Martin made in Oct 2020, the first purchase after the ED probe, and the redemption by parties within the stipulated 15 days suggest that DMK was the biggest gainer with Rs 80 crore redemption during this period (not necessarily from Santiago), followed by BJD (Rs 67 cr), TMC (Rs 57 cr), Congress (Rs 20 cr), AAP (Rs 3 cr) and BJP (Rs 2 cr). These were the potential beneficiaries of the donations made during that period.
Take another sample from SBI’s bond disclosure list: Martin’s company purchased bonds worth Rs 195 crore on October 5, 2021. In the corresponding 15 days, the redeemers included TMC (Rs 110 cr), DMK (Rs 99 cr), BJD (Rs 70 cr) and BRS (Rs 153 cr), compared to BJP’s Rs 7 crore and Congress’s Rs 20 crore.
On July 22, 2019, ED attached assets worth Rs 119.6 crore of firms floated by Santiago Martin and his associates in a laundering case related to illegal gains from his lottery business.
The list also includes Megha Engineering and Infrastructures, a prominent donor which is also being investigated by the tax authorities.
A perusal of the list of donors shows that many of the donors who have not been under the scanner, as well as those facing probes, have been making donations in the pre-EB days as well.
Moreover, it may be difficult to establish a direct link between a probe and donations to BJP or any party. Bond purchases of Rs 150 crore by Santiago Martin made in Oct 2020, the first purchase after the ED probe, and the redemption by parties within the stipulated 15 days suggest that DMK was the biggest gainer with Rs 80 crore redemption during this period (not necessarily from Santiago), followed by BJD (Rs 67 cr), TMC (Rs 57 cr), Congress (Rs 20 cr), AAP (Rs 3 cr) and BJP (Rs 2 cr). These were the potential beneficiaries of the donations made during that period.
Take another sample from SBI’s bond disclosure list: Martin’s company purchased bonds worth Rs 195 crore on October 5, 2021. In the corresponding 15 days, the redeemers included TMC (Rs 110 cr), DMK (Rs 99 cr), BJD (Rs 70 cr) and BRS (Rs 153 cr), compared to BJP’s Rs 7 crore and Congress’s Rs 20 crore.
On July 22, 2019, ED attached assets worth Rs 119.6 crore of firms floated by Santiago Martin and his associates in a laundering case related to illegal gains from his lottery business.
