Particle.news
Download on the App Store
52 ARTICLES
·
last mo.

ED Freezes ₹440 Crore in TMC Accounts After Kolkata Raids

It raises questions about whether party funds bought aircraft that were leased back to the party, prompting ongoing court review.

The Enforcement Directorate has raided several locations in Kolkata as part of its probe into transactions linked to bank accounts of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress | ANI File/ED insignia
Image
Image
Image

Overview

  • The Enforcement Directorate raided five Kolkata‑area premises linked to Carewell Aviation on Tuesday, July 7, as part of a money‑laundering probe into transfers from Trinamool Congress accounts.
  • On Wednesday, July 8, the ED issued PMLA Section 17(1A) orders freezing three HDFC accounts holding ₹440.42 crore while its forensic tracing continued.
  • ED investigators say preliminary records show about ₹150–160 crore moved from TMC accounts to Carewell and related entities between April 2023 and June 2026 and that roughly ₹112 crore was used to buy an Embraer jet and an Agusta helicopter.
  • The case began after a complaint and FIR filed by rebel TMC legislators led local police to freeze debit operations earlier in June, and the Calcutta High Court is now hearing challenges to those freezes and ED actions.
  • The TMC calls the action politically motivated and stresses statutory disclosures, while authorities are probing an alleged $1.7 million Cayman Islands loan and future adjudication under the PMLA could confirm or lift the freeze.