In the electoral bonds data released yesterday, the only identifier on the donor side is the name of the company or individual. Future Gaming and Hotel Services PR whose managing director is the well known lottery magnate Santiago Martin, is the largest donor to political parties for the period April 12, 2019 to January 24, 2024, the electoral bonds data released by the Election Commission, on receipt from the State Bank of India, revealed.
The firm donated a cumulative sum of ₹1,368 crore in electoral bonds during this period. Incidentally, the Enforcement Directorate had attached ₹411 crore in the bank accounts of the firm and other companies in March 2022 and had later filed a prosecution complaint against it under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 before the PMLA Court, Kolkata on September 09, 2023.
In the data released, there are 1,260 companies and individuals that purchased electoral bonds worth ₹12,769 crore. The top 20, all companies, accounted for ₹5,945 crore—or nearly half of the total amount donated through electoral bonds.
Ms SN Mohanty is the biggest individual donor in the list with total donations of ₹45 crore. She is followed by Lakshmi Niwas Mitttal who donated ₹35 crore.
Hours after the Election Commission released electoral bonds data, Congress leader Amitabh Dubey on Thursday alleged a discrepancy in the number of entries in donor and recipient files.
He also asked why the data shared with the Election Commission pertains to a period from April 2019 even though the scheme was introduced in 2017.
“The donors’ file has 18,871 entries, the recipients’ file has 20,421 entries. Why the discrepancy @TheOfficialSBI?” Amitabh Dubey, in charge of research and monitoring in the Congress’ communication department, wrote on X.
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