ED Freezes TMC Bank Accounts Worth ₹440 Crore Over Alleged Fund Misappropriation
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday froze three bank accounts of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) holding deposits of ₹440.42 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The action followed searches conducted at five premises in and around Kolkata related to an alleged funds misappropriation case.
According to the ED, the preliminary investigation found that the political party had invested its own corpus into a private aviation firm, Carewell Aviation India Pvt Ltd, to acquire a business jet and a helicopter. The ED spokesperson said that around ₹160 crore was transferred from TMC bank accounts to Carewell Aviation and its related entities, mostly between April 2023 and June 2026.
The probe further revealed that ₹82.96 crore was routed to a newly incorporated entity between 2023 and 2026 for the purchase of an Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft and an Agusta 109 GrandNew helicopter, totalling ₹112 crore. Additionally, USD 1.7 million was arranged as an unsecured loan in 2023 from a Cayman Islands-based entity to purchase the helicopter.
The ED stated that these aircraft were subsequently rented out to the TMC itself, even though they were purchased from the party's corpus. Substantial amounts were later transferred on the pretext of aircraft usage. The arrangement is under investigation to determine the actual beneficial purpose of the transactions.
The TMC, led by Mamata Banerjee, had earlier moved the Calcutta High Court after three of its accounts were frozen. The court directed HDFC Bank to disclose the corpus held in those accounts. On Wednesday, the bank filed a report before the High Court, but the hearing was adjourned to Thursday after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta expressed personal difficulty. The court did not open the report.
The case originated from a complaint by a rebel group of TMC MLAs and leaders to the Cyber Crime unit of Bidhannagar police, alleging a serious dispute within the party and seeking a probe into the source of funds. The police registered an FIR based on the complaint, which led to the ED's investigation under the PMLA.
The TMC's lawyer, Kishore Dutta, informed the court that additional party accounts have also been frozen and stated that a supplementary affidavit will be filed. Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya noted that he is contemplating appointing a retired Calcutta High Court judge to oversee the matter.
