Two Indian expats in UAE win $1 million each in Dubai Duty Free draw
Latest draw also awards a Range Rover and BMW motorbike
DUBAI – Two Indian expatriates living in the UAE have each won $1 million (Dh3,672,500) in the latest Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire draw, with both winners describing plans for their families, investments and long-held ambitions.
The latest draw has added two more Indian nationals to the promotion’s growing list of millionaires since it began in 1999.
The event also saw an Indian resident win a luxury Range Rover, while an Indian national based in Riyadh took home a BMW motorbike.
Millionaire wins
Bhanu Sobhani, a 40-year-old Indian national living in Dubai, won $1 million in Millennium Millionaire Series 557 with ticket number 0489. He purchased the ticket at Concourse B on September 2 while travelling to Poland for a business trip.
Sobhani has lived in Dubai for 10 years and has regularly participated in Dubai Duty Free’s promotion since 2021. A father of two, he runs a textile and garment factory in Bur Dubai.
The winner said he had continued to hope for a prize and described the win as an advance birthday gift, with his birthday due next month. He said he plans to invest some of the winnings in property and donate part of the money to charity.
Daravanan Malairaj, a 36-year-old Indian national based in Abu Dhabi, won the second $1 million prize in Millennium Millionaire Series 558 with ticket number 4905. He purchased the ticket online on September 1.
Malairaj has lived in Abu Dhabi since 2009 and has participated in the Dubai Duty Free promotion for the past six months. He is a father of two and works as a storekeeper for a construction company in Abu Dhabi.
Dream plans
Malairaj said the jackpot could help turn his long-standing ambition of owning a mall in Tamil Nadu into reality.
Additional accounts of his win said he also hopes to use the money to secure a better future for his four-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, including supporting their education. He has also spoken of eventually returning to India to spend more time with his children.
The two winners are the 283rd and 284th Indian nationals to win $1 million through the Millennium Millionaire promotion since its launch in 1999. Indian nationals remain the biggest purchasers of tickets in the promotion.
Luxury prizes
The latest Dubai Duty Free draw also featured two Finest Surprise prizes.
Shailesh Kumar, a 47-year-old Indian national living in Dubai, won a Range Rover SE P360 in Charente Grey with ticket number 1346 in Finest Surprise Series 1964. He purchased the winning ticket online on September 17.
Kumar has been a Dubai resident since 2012 and has participated in the promotion for eight years. The father of two works as an insurance manager for a Dubai company.
He described the Range Rover as his dream car and said he had never previously won a prize.
Sajjad Siddiqui, an Indian national based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, won a BMW R12 GS motorbike in Light White. His winning ticket, number 0749, was purchased online on September 17 for Finest Surprise Series 679.
Siddiqui was uncontactable following the draw and has yet to learn of his latest prize.