Chennai, Nov. 15 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted fresh searches in multiple states against Chennai-based 'lottery king' Santiago Martin, one of the biggest donors to political parties, with over Rs 1,300 crore in electoral bonds, as part of a money laundering investigation. The action comes after the Madras High Court recently allowed the ED to proceed against Martin as the Tamil Nadu Police had decided to close the predicate or primary FIR against him and a few others and a lower court accepted this police plea.

Santiago Martin donated Rs. 542 crore to Trinamool Congress (TMC), Rs. 509 crore to DMK, Rs.154 crore to Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), Rs.100 crore to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and R...