CAG fingers four lottery companies in Mizoram scandal

Saturday 24th of June 2017

Four private companies in India have been slammed for their involvement in the Mizoram lottery scandal which allegedly led to Rs 11,808.8 crore (US$1.7 billion) in tax losses from 2012 to 2015, The Wire reports.

The scandal first came to light in February 2016, when the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) began an investigation into alleged lottery malpractices run by the Mizoram government.

The CAG in its investigative report into the scandal - noted the “opaque manner” in which tenders have been awarded in the state.

According to the report, tenders were awarded for conducting paper and online lotteries to four entities – M/s. Teesta Distributors, M/s. NV International and Summit Online Trade Solutions Pvt. Ltd E-Cool Gaming Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

The latter is a company which is linked to Pan India Network Ltd., a lottery company with alleged connections to the Essel Group, led by Subhash Chandra.

The CAG alleged that these tenders were awarded on an arbitrary basis and not to the entities which assured the highest share of revenue from sale of lottery tickets to the government.

Lottery Tax Scandal Mizoram