Masked man collects $52.7 mln lottery jackpot

China's biggest-ever lottery prize of almost 360 million yuan ($52.7 million), which had triggered weeks of nationwide speculation over the identity of its winner, has finally been claimed, local lottery administrators said yesterday.

A middle-aged man surnamed An took home the 290 million yuan after-tax jackpot at midday Tuesday, said Li Guangyun, spokesman of Provincial Welfare Lottery Center Henan province.

Lottery officials announced on Oct 8 that a winning ticket worth almost 360 million yuan was bought in Anyang of Henan.

But the unidentified buyer didn't come forward to claim the gigantic Dual-colored Ball jackpot of the China Welfare Lottery until 19 days after the announcement. This raised speculation about the identity of the winner, who has been nicknamed the "most wanted man in China".

"The winner is a local middle-aged businessman surnamed An from Anyang," Li said at a press conference yesterday afternoon.

"An refused to reveal his identity. He was wearing sunglasses and a face mask when he came to collect the jackpot."

An came to the lottery Center of Henan at 11:45 am Tuesday to collect his jackpot, and walked out of the center 25 minutes later, according to Li.

An decided to donate 10 million yuan to Henan Charity Federation immediately and 600,000 yuan to Yan Mengmeng, a Henan girl suffering uremia.

Lottery winners are required to collect their money within two months after paying 20 percent of the amount in taxes. But they don't have to pay tax on the money that they donate.

So An will pay 69.9 million yuan in taxes instead of 72 million.

"An said he will maintain his current life style and spend the money responsibly and wisely despite claiming China's biggest-ever jackpot," said Li. "He will invest some of the winning into his business."


【1】 【2】