Leema Martin Age, Husband, Children, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Full Name	Leema Rose Martin
Profession(s)	• Politician • Social worker
Famous for	Being the richest MLA from Tamil Nadu
Physical Stats
Height (approx.)	5' 7" (170 cm)
Weight (approx.)	60 Kg (132 lbs)
Eye Colour	Brown
Hair Colour	Black
Politics
Political Party	All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)
Political Journey	Became an MLA for the first time in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election from Lalgudi Assembly constituency
Awards, Honours, Achievements	• 12 July 2009- Thiruvalluvar Award • 2010- Business Award • 24 October 2010- Certification of Achievement Award (World Polio Day) for Supporting Rotary’s Mission to Eradicate Polio • 2012- Aanigamamani Award for Best Homoeopathy Medical College • 2012- Sirantha Sathanaiyalar Award • 2012- Doctor of Divinity • 2012-2013- Parivu Mamanithar Award • 2013-2014- Rights International Award by United Human Care • 5 December 2013- Best Women Entrepreneur Award • 2014-2015- Lions Clubs International District Governor’s Appreciation Certificate Award • 24 January 2015- Bharath Gaurav Achievement Award • 30 January 2015- Excellence Achievement Award, Sri Lankan Human Rights Organization • 22 April 2015- Award of Distinguished Service in Homoeopathy Medicine, Berlin, Germany • 2 May 2015- Lincoln Universal Award & Grand Achievers Award • 14 December 2015- Excellence Achievement Award and Gold Medal, Human Rights Organization, Sri Lanka • 19 December 2015- Best Social Welfare Award, Middle East University FZE, UAE • 2016- The First Women Major Donor Award • 22 June 2016- Best Women Entrepreneur Award • 25 February 2018- Tamil Achievers Award • 4 March 2018- Icon of Service Award • 8 March 2018- Women of Inspiration Award • 18 August 2018- Bharat Ratna Mother Teresa Excellence Award • 2018- Seva Ratna Award • 2018-2019- Rotary International Major Donor Level III Recognition • 2018-2019- Recognition for Service to Humanity (Rotary Foundation) • 16 March 2019- Lifetime Achievement Award, World Women Foundation • 17 March 2019- Pride of Coimbatore Award • 23 June 2019- The Change Maker Award • 2019- Certificate of Appreciation Award for Vocational Service (Sahodari – Transtalent Awareness Project) • 2 June 2020- RI District 3201 Governor’s Recognition Award for Contribution to the Rotary Foundation • 2020- Outstanding Cabinet Member Award • 2020- Excellence Award for First Women AKS Member in RI District 3201 • 2020- Rotary International ARCH KLUMPH SOCIETY (AKS) Membership Recognition • Melvin Jones Fellow for Dedicated Humanity Service, Lions Clubs International Foundation • Award from Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports Meet, Nehru Yuva Kendra, Government of India • Life Time Achievement Award, Tamil Nadu Barkava Gula Sangam, Coimbatore District • Veera Alagu Amman Thirukovil Award
Personal Life
Date of Birth	7 November 1967 (Tuesday)
Age (as of 2025)	58 Years
Birthplace	Devakottai, Ramanathapuram District (now Sivaganga district), Tamil Nadu, India
Zodiac sign	Scorpio
Signature
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu
School	Government Higher Secondary School, Thiruvadanai, Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu
Educational Qualification	6th standard (1979-1980)
Religion	Christianity
Food Habit	Non-vegetarian
Hobbies	• Playing tennis • Listening to music
Controversies	Leema Martin named in ED cases AIADMK MLA Leema Rose Martin and her husband, lottery businessman Santiago Martin, found themselves in trouble on 12 March 2012, when the Central Crime Branch of Chennai Police raided the home of one of their business partners, Nagarajan, and found Rs 7.20 crore worth of unaccounted cash. With Martin and another associate Murthy, the money was to be sourced from the sale of lottery tickets from Kerala and Maharashtra, which were printed in Kolkata and Faridabad, respectively, said Nagarajan to investigators. The CCB filed cases in the Indian Penal Code, which include cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy. According to leema Rose and her husband, the money seized was advance payment for the property acquisition at Anna Nagar in Chennai in her name and that the money belonged to her. They presented the alleged sale agreement dated 2 March 2012 in front of the court in support of the claim. The ED had an issue with the documents. The government released and issued the stamp paper in the agreement on 9 March 2012, and the stamp vendor sold it on 13 March, 8 days after the alleged date of the agreement. The agency claimed that Leema Rose and Murthy had made up the documents to show the unaccounted cash as sale proceeds. The ED lodged a money laundering case against her in the year 2016 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. On 14 November 2022, CCB submitted a closure report, clearing Martin and others. The report was received by the Alandur Judicial Magistrate who closed the case. But this respite was brief. The closure was challenged by the ED before the Madras High Court. The order of the magistrate was set aside by a division bench of S M Subramaniam and V Sivagnanam in October 2024. The bench observed that the CCB had tried to cover up the predicate offence of the accused and done it on flimsy motives as evident from the closure report itself. The court ordered the CCB and ED to carry out the investigation in tandem. At least 30 houses associated with Martin and associates in Tamil Nadu, Sikkim and Kolkata were searched by the ED days after the order. The search was conducted at the premises in Chennai, Coimbatore, Faridabad, Ludhiana and Kolkata. On the second day of the searches, the agency recovered Rs 8.80 crore in cash, which comprised mostly in Rs 500 denomination notes, from Martin's corporate office. Another, much bigger ED case challenging the Sikkim government had been pending before Leema Rose and her husband. In 2014, the ED had filed an Enforcement Case Information Report against the Sikkim government for losses of Rs 910.29 crore due to the sale of lottery tickets in Kerala using fake lottery numbers. The agency has issued six provisional attachment orders for assets worth Rs 910.29 crore since 2016. In November 2023, the authority which is adjudicating the properties confirmed the attachment of properties of Rs 456.84 crore. The accused challenged this order in the Appellate Tribunal under the PMLA, which on 30 May 2025 found the ED's provisional attachment order to be valid. With Santiago Martin, their daughter, the wife of the TVK leader Aadhav Arjuna, and several companies that were part of the Martin family, then filed 39 appeals before the Madras High Court. A division bench led by Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan issued the notices to the ED and also heard interim petitions for a stay of the attachment proceedings on 10 June 2026. Rumours about Leema Martin's brother in drug case The money laundering investigation in the case of cross-border narcotics smuggling was conducted by the Enforcement Directorate's Chennai Zonal Office on 26 May 2026 at five locations in Chennai and Ramanathapuram. The ED identified one John Britto as the alleged mastermind for both operations. The common surname Britto led to social media users associating the accused with several public figures soon after the ED press release was released. There were a few statements suggesting that the accused was the brother of AIADMK MLA Leema Rose Martin. Other posts connected the case with the Tamil Nadu Public Works and Sports Minister Aadhav Arjuna, who is married to the daughter of Leema Rose and Santiago Martin. The DMK IT wing had posted a statement on X questioning if Minister Arjuna was a close relative of the accused and whether the TVK government's promise of clean politics has transformed into a political network that is built on drugs. In a similar case, YouTuber Maridhas had made allegations questioning whether the case will be buried because of political influence when he was arrested by the Tamil Nadu Police around the same time. Additional rumours claimed the John Britto named by the ED was related to Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay through his uncle Xavier Britto. Leema Rose's elder brother Philip John Britto on 9 June 2026, lodged a complaint at the Commissioner's Office in Chennai against the dissemination of false information linking him to the ED narcotics case on social media. He told reporters that the allegations were made known to him when he saw them online. According to Philip John Britto, there was only one case pending against him in Kerala, which was related to lottery and was not connected to any narcotics investigation. He said the John Britto mentioned in the ED case was “a completely different person,” and warned of “legal consequences” for anyone making the claims. Independent journalist Siddharth Prabhakar also claimed the accused in the ED case is a 40-year-old Irudayaraj John Britto who lives in Kodungaiyur in Chennai. Philip John Britto is more than 57 years old, so they are definitely two different people.
Social Media	• Facebook • Instagram • Threads • YouTube • Personal website
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Marriage Date	24 February
Family
Husband/Spouse	Santiago Martin (Lottery baron)
Children	Son(s)- 2 • Jose Charles Martin • Jose Daison Martin Daughter- Daisy Martin
Parents	Father- S.Philip Mother- P. Arulmary
Siblings	Brother- Philip John Britto
Style Quotient
Car/Vehicle Collection	• Tractor Bajaj 2000 (TN-38-K-9419) • Hyundai Creta 2018 (TN-38-CM-0091) • Maruthi Dzire ZXI+ 2022 (TN-09-DB-0959) • Mahindra Thar 2026 (TN-99-AR-5000) • Urbania Vehicle 2026 (KA-51-AK-1323)
Bike Collection	• TVS XL Superss 2011 (TN-38-BF-1562) • TVS XL 100 M 2019 (TN-38-CT-6877) • Honda Activa 2020 (TN-06-Z-2962) • Honda Activa 2020 (TN-06-Z-2908) • Yamaha Fascino 2020 (TN-38-CV-8569)
Money Factor
Salary	Rs 9,82,44,850 (As of FY 2024-2025)
Assets/Properties (As of FY 2024-2025)	Movable Assets • Cash: Rs. 5,52,160 • Bank Deposits: Rs. 9,91,28,928 • Bonds, Debentures and Shares in companies: Rs. 1,39,62,98,713 • Motor Vehicles: Rs. 2,31,33,733 • Jewellery: Rs. 45,09,57,174 • Others: Rs. 3,31,41,660 Immovable Assets • Agricultural Land: Rs. 93,68,52,266 • Non-Agricultural Land: Rs. 8,55,77,07,411 • Commercial Buildings: Rs. 77,53,57,855 • Residential Buildings: Rs. 1,67,22,83,858
Net Worth	Rs. 10,41,00,53,584 (As of FY 2024-2025)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Leema Martin

• Leema Rose Martin was born in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu in 1967.

• According to her affidavit during the 2026 Tamil Nadu legislative elections, she has passed 6th standrad, but according to her personal website, she has a Business Administration Bachelor’s degree.

• She was very interested from early childhood in humanitarian issues and social service.

• She speaks Tamil, English and Hindi.

• Martin is Director of over 20 companies and 20 Limited Liability Partnerships.

• She is Managing Trustee of the Martin Foundation whose charitable programmes are focused on education, healthcare, environment and animal welfare.

• She is married to Santiago Martin, Chairman of the Martin Charitable Trust, one of the leading lottery entrepreneurs.

• Their daughter, Daisy is married to actor Aadhav Arjuna of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam party.

• Along with her corporate responsibilities, Martin works as Correspondent of Martin Homeopathy Medical College and Hospital in Coimbatore.

• She visited multiple countries and had the opportunity to experience various cultures and business practices.

• She has held Consultant and Advisor roles in international and national civil society organisations, thanks to her experience and expertise in that field.

• Martin founded Seed Ball Festival in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu in 2020. In this initiative, 2,500 people scattered 30 lakh seeds, which the students have prepared to aid environmental restoration.

• She set up scholarships of more than Rs 2.5 crore for students from weaker sections of the society.

• She also was able to extend medical sponsorships to more than 360 patients.

• The Martin Group donated Rs 7,07,82,536 towards a Digital Optic Fibre Network Platform Infrastructure in Coimbatore to improve urban mobility.

• Over 600 single mothers and tribal women were given sewing machines and three months free training through Project Threlaksha, which Martin led.

• She helped launch the Aatharuvu initiative for providing school kits to kids in cancer treatment.

• According to her deposition in the Election Commission of India before the 2026 poll of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, Martin has net assets worth Rs 1,041.5 crore, and is the wealthiest among all the candidates in the assembly.

• She contested the Lalgudi Assembly constituency in Tiruchirappalli district from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) ticket.

• She won 60,795 votes to defeat Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s Ku Pa Krishnan by 2,739 votes, and became a first-time MLA.