TMC Bank Accounts Frozen Under PMLA; ED Freezes Rs 440 Cr
The Enforcement Directorate has frozen Rs 440.42 crore lying in three bank accounts of the All India Trinamool Congress under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The Mamata Banerjee-led party has called the ED action politically motivated, arbitrary, and illegal.
In a major legal and political development from West Bengal, the Enforcement Directorate’s Kolkata Zonal Office has frozen three HDFC Bank accounts of the All India Trinamool Congress, commonly known as TMC or AITC. The agency said the action was taken during searches at five premises in and around Kolkata linked to the Carewell group of companies, which operates in the aviation sector.
ED Freezes TMC Bank Accounts Under PMLA
According to the ED, balances amounting to Rs 440.42 crore lying in three HDFC Bank accounts of AITC were frozen under Section 17(1-A) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The searches were carried out as part of an investigation into alleged financial dealings and suspected routing of funds.
The ED said the Section 17(1-A) PMLA action was taken after a money-laundering investigation linked to a Bidhannagar Cyber Police FIR involving allegations of dishonest financial dealings, unlawful collection of money, and routing of suspected funds through certain AITC bank accounts.
The agency has said the case is still under investigation, and no conclusion has been announced so far. The matter is expected to remain under close legal and political scrutiny in the coming days.
Rs 440 Crore TMC Bank Accounts Under Probe
The ED claimed that around Rs 160 crore was transferred from AITC bank accounts to M/s Carewell Aviation India Pvt. Ltd. and a related entity, mostly between April 2023 and June 2026. The agency also alleged that Carewell Aviation routed Rs 82.96 crore during 2023–2026 to another related entity for purchasing an Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft and an Agusta 109 Grand New helicopter.
According to the agency, around Rs 112 crore was used for the aircraft and helicopter purchases. The ED further said that USD 1.7 million was arranged as an unsecured loan from a Cayman Islands-based entity in 2023 for the helicopter purchase.
Carewell Aviation TMC Case
The Carewell Aviation TMC case has now become the centre of the Enforcement Directorate’s money-laundering probe. The ED alleged that the aircraft and helicopter were later rented out to AITC itself, even though they were allegedly purchased from the party’s corpus.
The agency said substantial amounts were later transferred on the pretext of aircraft usage. It added that the arrangement is being examined to identify the actual beneficial purpose of the transactions.
TMC Calls ED Action Politically Motivated
The Trinamool Congress strongly rejected the ED’s move and called it a politically motivated act. The Mamata Banerjee-led party said the freezing of its bank accounts was arbitrary and illegal. It also claimed that all funds held in the party’s accounts had been fully and transparently disclosed.
TMC said its donation transactions were duly reported to the Election Commission of India and the Income Tax Department. The party also said these disclosures are published annually on the Election Commission’s website and are available in the public domain.
Political Row Over ED Probe
The freezing of TMC bank accounts under PMLA is likely to trigger a sharp political confrontation between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP-led central government. While the ED has described the case as a money-laundering investigation, TMC has alleged that central agencies are being misused to target political opponents.
The development comes at a politically sensitive time in West Bengal, where the Trinamool Congress has repeatedly accused central agencies of acting under political pressure. The party’s response suggests that the issue may soon move beyond legal proceedings and become a major political flashpoint.
What Happens Next?
The ED investigation is still in progress. The agency is expected to continue examining the financial trail involving AITC bank accounts, Carewell Aviation, and related entities.
TMC, on the other hand, is likely to challenge the action politically and possibly legally, while continuing to argue that its funds were properly declared before the Election Commission and tax authorities.
For now, the ED’s decision to freeze Rs 440.42 crore in TMC bank accounts has created a major legal and political controversy, with both sides presenting sharply different versions of the case.
