ED freezes three TMC bank accounts holding Rs 440 crore under PMLA

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it had frozen three bank accounts of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) containing deposits worth Rs 440 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The TMC described the agency's action as politically motivated.

According to the ED, the accounts were frozen following searches at five premises in and around Kolkata linked to the Carewell Group, an aviation company, Scroll.in reported.

The searches were carried out as part of a money laundering investigation based on a first information report registered by the Bidhannagar Cyber Police in West Bengal. The agency said the case relates to alleged financial irregularities, unlawful collection of funds and the routing of suspected money through certain TMC bank accounts.

The ED alleged that nearly Rs 160 crore was transferred from the party's bank accounts to Carewell Aviation India Private Limited and another related company between April 2023 and June 2026.

According to the agency, Carewell Aviation subsequently transferred around Rs 83 crore to another associated entity, which allegedly used the funds to purchase an Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft and an Agusta 109 Grand New helicopter. The ED claimed that approximately Rs 112 crore was spent on acquiring the two aircraft.

The agency further alleged that a Cayman Islands-based company had extended an unsecured loan of about USD 1.7 million (approximately Rs 14.04 crore) in 2023 to help finance the helicopter purchase.

The ED claimed that the aircraft and helicopter were later leased to the TMC despite having been acquired using funds transferred from the party's bank accounts. It also alleged that the party subsequently made substantial payments for using the aircraft.

Reacting to the action, the TMC condemned what it called the ED's arbitrary and illegal move. In a statement, the party said the use of central investigative agencies against political rivals had become a characteristic of the Bharatiya Janata Party's politics and described the action as an attack on democratic institutions and the principle of a level playing field.

The party maintained that all the money held in its bank accounts had been fully disclosed and accounted for. It said details of all donations had been regularly reported to the Election Commission and the Income Tax Department and that these disclosures were published annually on the Election Commission's website and remained available in the public domain.

The ED's action comes months after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in West Bengal in May, ending the TMC's 15-year rule.