The Enforcement Directorate has issued orders to freeze ₹440.42 crore worth of bank deposits held in three private bank accounts of the All India Trinamool Congress under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). According to officials, the orders were issued under Section 17 (1-A) of the PMLA following searches conducted on Tuesday. The freeze comes after five premises in Kolkata were raided, including those belonging to the Carewell Group of Companies, which operates a private jet and charter hiring entity named Carewell Aviation. There was no immediate response from the Trinamool Congress to these developments.
The ED's preliminary investigation found that about ₹160 crore was transferred from TMC's bank accounts to Carewell Aviation India Pvt. Ltd. and its related entity between April 2023 and June 2026. As reported by officials, the company is alleged to have further routed ₹82.96 crore (between 2023 and 2026) to another newly incorporated entity. The investigation reveals that a 'significant' amount was transferred to this entity, with ₹112 crore specifically used for purchasing an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet and an AgustaWestland 109SP helicopter. These two flying assets were subsequently 'rented' to the TMC, which was recently ousted from power in West Bengal by the BJP.
The searches covered premises of Carewell Aviation and its directors, along with a purported electoral trust, according to ED officials. Last month, Kolkata police froze debit operations on these three bank accounts based on complaints from the TMC's rebel MLAs seeking a probe into the source of funds, amid an ongoing bitter internal battle over control of the party's war chest. On July 2, the Calcutta High Court directed private bank authorities to disclose the corpus held in those accounts, while hearing a petition filed by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the TMC challenging the debit freeze of the party's bank accounts.
The ED operation represents a comprehensive investigation into alleged fund misappropriation activities, with the searches conducted as part of the ongoing probe into the Trinamool Congress bank accounts. The investigation is specifically linked to routing of alleged suspect funds in the bank accounts of the Trinamool Congress, indicating the political and financial significance of the case. The Enforcement Directorate continues its investigation into the matter, with the ₹440.42 crore freeze representing a significant enforcement action under the anti-money laundering framework.
