Newly released documents show investigators at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. approved a $21.5-million "insider win" after a two-month internal probe.

An "insider win" is a lottery win by a store clerk, owner or lottery employee.

The OLG was compelled to release internal documents Friday detailing its investigation of Cambridge convenience store owner Eun Chul Shin following an appeal to the province's privacy commissioner by the CBC.

Documents show the OLG's top investigator approved Shin's July 2006 win in the wake of allegations the winning ticket didn't belong to him.

"Based on the information obtained, there is no evidence to suggest that the winning Lotto 6/49 ticket in question was not purchased and validated by Mr. Eun Chul Shin," investigators said at the time, according to the documents.

Shin's former partner, Young Hee Cho, filed a lawsuit in August 2006 for her share of the winnings, alleging he dumped her after the two won the jackpot on July 10, 2006, and refused to give her any of the winnings.

The money has since been held in trust by the court while lawyers hammer out who rightfully owns the ticket.

The corporation's internal documents show the store owner had pocketed almost $17,000 in previous winnings before claiming the $21.5-million 6/49 jackpot.

Investigators say Shin initially panicked and told them the jackpot ticket belonged to a customer who had left the store. The store owner told investigators he was afraid that if he claimed the ticket, his information would be released to the media, according to internal documents.

A 2006 investigation by The Fifth Estate into retailer lottery wins stemmed from a lawsuit involving Coboconk, Ont., senior Bob Edmonds and the OLG. Edmonds alleged that his winning ticket had been fraudulently claimed at a local store and eventually reached a settlement with both the retailer and the OLG.

After the report aired, the lottery corporation announced measures such as more electronic devices for players to check their own tickets, rules prohibiting clerks from handling a ticket unless it has been signed on the back by a customer and video screens that would face customers.

Retailers now have to use a special "retailer button" that identifies them as insiders, and insider wins are no longer investigated by the OLG but rather scrutinized by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, which now oversees the lottery corporation, said lottery spokeswoman Teresa Roncon.

"There are many levels of checks and balances," she said.