The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday announced that it has frozen three bank accounts belonging to the Trinamool Congress (TMC), containing deposits of Rs 440.42 crore, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), after carrying out searches in an alleged fund misappropriation case.
According to ED sources, the agency's preliminary investigation indicates that the political party invested its own corpus in a private aviation company to acquire a business jet and a helicopter.
“The ED conducted search operations at five premises in and around Kolkata under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The premises belonged to the Carewell group of companies, which operates in the aviation sector. During the searches, balances amounting to Rs 440.42 crore lying in three HDFC Bank accounts of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) were frozen under Section 17(1-A) of the PMLA,” an ED spokesperson said.
The agency said the raids were linked to a money laundering investigation stemming from an FIR registered by the Cyber Police in Bidhannagar over allegations of dishonest financial transactions, unlawful collection of money and the routing of suspected funds through certain TMC bank accounts.
The ED alleged that its investigation has found that nearly Rs 160 crore was transferred from TMC accounts to M/s Carewell Aviation India Pvt Ltd and one of its related entities, with most of the transactions taking place between April 2023 and June 2026.
According to the agency, M/s Carewell Aviation India Pvt Ltd subsequently transferred Rs 82.96 crore between 2023 and 2026 to another newly incorporated related entity for the acquisition of an Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft and an Agusta 109 GrandNew helicopter.
“A total of Rs 112 crore was used for these purchases. It was also revealed that USD 1.7 million was arranged as an unsecured loan in 2023 from a Cayman Islands-based entity to purchase the helicopter,” the spokesperson added.
The ED further alleged that the aircraft and helicopter were later leased back to the Trinamool Congress despite having been purchased using the party's own corpus.
“These Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft and Agusta helicopter were subsequently rented out to TMC itself, even though they were purchased from the corpus of TMC. Later, substantial amounts were transferred on the pretext of aircraft usage. The above-mentioned dubious arrangement is under investigation to ascertain the actual beneficial purpose of the transactions,” the spokesperson said.
Earlier, the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC had approached the High Court seeking urgent intervention after three of its party accounts, reportedly containing Rs 440 crore, were frozen by the West Bengal Police.
The move followed the party's defeat in the Assembly elections, after a rebel faction of TMC MLAs and leaders requested the bank to freeze the accounts, citing a "serious dispute" within the organisation.
The rebel group had also lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crime unit of Bidhannagar police, seeking an investigation into the source of the funds.
Also Read | Sena Corporator Held For Assaulting Doctors Admitted To Hospital After Arrest
