The ED froze Rs 440.42 crore in TMC's bank accounts in a money laundering probe. The investigation is linked to the Carewell aviation group, with funds allegedly used to buy an aircraft and chopper which were then rented back to the party.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen Rs 440.42 crore lying in three HDFC bank accounts of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) or TMC in connection with its probe in the matter of alleged dishonest financial dealings, unlawful collection of money, and routing of suspected funds through certain bank accounts of the party, the agency said on Wednesday.
ED's Kolkata zonal office freezed the amount following its search operations carried out a day ago at five premises in and around Kolkata under the provisions of PMLA, 2002, belonging to Carewell group of companies operating in the aviation sector.
"During searches, balances amounting to Rs 440.42 crore lying in 3 HDFC bank accounts of AITC have been frozen under section 17 (1-A) of PMLA, 2002," said the ED in a statement.
ED said it launched the searches in connection with an investigation under PMLA, 2002, based on an FIR lodged by the Cyber Police, Bidhannagar, West Bengal in the matter of alleged dishonest financial dealings, unlawful collection of money, and routing of suspected funds through certain bank accounts of TMC.
Investigation Details Emerge
ED further said its investigation revealed that around Rs 160 crore was transferred from TMC bank accounts to Carewell Aviation India Pvt Ltd and its related entity, mostly between April 2023 and June 2026.
Aircraft and Chopper Purchase
The agency further revealed that Carewell Aviation Pvt Ltd routed an amount of Rs 82.96 crore during 2023-2026 to another newly incorporated related entity for purchasing an Aircraft Embrarer Legacy 600, and one chopper, an Augusta 109 Grand New.
"An amount of Rs 112 crore was used for making the said purchases. It is also revealed that an amount of USD 1.7 million was arranged as an unsecured loan in the year 2023 from one Cayman Islands-based entity to purchase the said helicopter," mentioned the ED in its statement.
'Dubious' Rental Arrangement
These Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft and Agusta helicopter, the federal agency further said, were subsequently rented out to TMC itself, even though they were purchased from the corpus of the party.
Thereafter, it said, substantial amounts were "transferred on the pretext of aircraft usage." ED also added that the "dubious arrangement" is under investigation to ascertain the actual beneficial purpose of the transactions. (ANI)
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