The Madras High Court has overturned an earlier decision by the Alandur Judicial Magistrate Court, which had accepted a closure report from the State regarding a significant case involving the seizure of Rs 7.20 crore in alleged tainted money. This case concerns prominent lottery figure Santiago Martin, his wife Lima Rose, and three others.In its ruling, the division bench comprising Justice S.M. Subramaniam and Justice V. Sivagnanam expressed concern over the Central Crime Branch’s (CCB) handling of the case. The bench highlighted that the CCB seemed to be attempting to obscure the predicate offense against Martin and his wife, suggesting that the closure report was filed on suspicious grounds and extraneous considerations.
Rejecting Martin’s argument that the closure of the predicate offense would negate the money laundering case, the court asserted, “Once the proceeds of crime are traced out from the predicate offense, it has become a stand-alone offense.” The bench emphasized that the investigation must continue under the procedures outlined in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The case traces back to March 12, 2012, when the CCB’s Chennai unit conducted a raid at the residence of Nagarajan, a business associate of Martin, resulting in the seizure of Rs 7.20 crore in unaccounted funds. The CCB claimed that Nagarajan indicated this amount was derived from the sale of lottery tickets printed in Kolkata and Faridabad, in collaboration with Martin and his partner Murthy, who were subsequently implicated in the case.
In response, Martin contended that the seized money was merely an advance payment to Murthy for a property sale at Anna Nagar, asserting that it was legitimate funds. However, the ED alleged that the investigation revealed discrepancies in the documentation surrounding the property sale, claiming that Leema Rose and Murthy engaged in document fabrication to misrepresent the source of the unaccounted money.
In a surprising turn of events, the CCB had filed a closure report on November 14, 2022, exonerating Martin and the others, a decision that was initially accepted by the Alandur judicial magistrate. However, following the High Court’s recent ruling, the Enforcement Directorate is now empowered to continue pursuing the case against Martin and his associates. The bench directed both the CCB and ED to move forward with their investigations, citing the need to prevent a miscarriage of justice.