ED Freezes Trinamool Accounts Worth Rs 440 Crore In Alleged Fund Diversion Case
ED Freezes Trinamool Accounts Worth Rs 440 Crore In Alleged Fund Diversion Case Published By, Last Updated: July 08, 2026, 17:16 IST ED alleged that
ED Freezes Trinamool Accounts Worth Rs 440 Crore In Alleged Fund Diversion Case Published By, Last Updated: July 08, 2026, 17:16 IST ED alleged that the company subsequently routed Rs 82.96 crore to another newly incorporated entity, from which around Rs 112 crore was used to purchase a jet. Rapid Read Representative image The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen Trinamool Congress (TMC) bank accounts holding approximately Rs 440 crore as it intensifies its investigation into alleged financial irregularities involving party funds and the purchase of a business jet and helicopter. The probe agency is investgating alleged financial irregularities involving the Carewell Group of Companies, which operates in the aviation sector. According to ED officials, the investigation has so far revealed that nearly Rs 160 crore was transferred from TMC-linked bank accounts to Carewell Aviation India Pvt.
Ltd. and a related entity between April 2023 and June 2026. The agency alleged that the company subsequently routed Rs 82.96 crore to another newly incorporated entity, from which around Rs 112 crore was used to purchase an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet and an AgustaWestland 109SP helicopter. The ED further claimed that while part of the funds used to acquire the helicopter came from foreign sources, the majority of the money originated from TMC-linked accounts. Investigators are examining allegations that after the aircraft were purchased, they were leased back to the political party, which then made substantial payments for their use. The agency said the arrangement appears to have been designed to conceal the actual beneficiary and the purpose of the transactions. “Thereafter, substantial amounts were transferred on the pretext of aircraft usage.
The entire arrangement appears highly dubious and seems designed to camouflage the actual beneficial purpose of the transactions presently under investigation," said the ED. Last month, the Kolkata police had frozen debit operations of three of the TMC’s bank accounts after rebel MLAs’ complaints seeking a probe into the funds’ source amid the ongoing bitter internal battle over control of the party’s financial war chest. These accounts are estimated to hold around Rs 440 crore. The Calcutta High Court on July 2, while hearing a petition filed by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the TMC challenging the debit freeze of the party’s bank accounts, directed the private bank authorities to disclose the corpus held in those accounts. (With inputs from agencies) News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news.
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