ED Freezes TMC Bank Accounts Worth ₹440 Crore in Money Laundering Probe
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it has frozen three bank accounts of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) holding deposits worth ₹440 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The action follows searches in an alleged funds misappropriation case.
The central agency issued orders under Section 17(1A) of the PMLA, which allows freezing of assets when seizure is not practicable and to prevent transfer or disposal. Such orders must be confirmed by the PMLA adjudicating authority within a fixed period.
According to the ED, the amount of ₹440.42 crore is held in three HDFC Bank accounts of the TMC. The bank filed a report before the Calcutta High Court as directed, disclosing the corpus. The court did not open the report and adjourned the hearing to Thursday.
The ED on Tuesday raided five premises in Kolkata, including those of Carewell Aviation India Pvt. Ltd., a private jet and charter hiring company. The agency acted after taking cognisance of an FIR filed by Kolkata police regarding allegations of dishonest financial dealings, unlawful money collection, and routing suspected funds through TMC bank accounts. The TMC was recently ousted from power in West Bengal by the BJP.
Preliminary investigation found that about ₹160 crore was transferred from TMC's bank accounts to Carewell Aviation and its related entity between April 2023 and June 2026. Carewell Aviation then routed ₹82.96 crore to another newly incorporated entity for purchasing an aircraft (Embraer Legacy 600) and a helicopter (Agusta 109 GrandNew). An amount of $1.7 million was arranged as an unsecured loan in 2023 from a Cayman Islands-based entity to purchase the helicopter.
The ED alleged that these flying assets were purchased from the party's corpus but then "rented" to the TMC, with substantial amounts transferred on the pretext of aircraft usage. The agency is investigating the "dubious" arrangement to ascertain the actual beneficial purpose.
Last month, Kolkata police froze debit operations on the same three accounts based on complaints from TMC's rebel MLAs seeking a probe into the source of funds amid an internal battle over control of the party's war chest. There was no immediate response from the TMC.
