Money Laundering Probe: ED Invokes PMLA To Freeze TMC Accounts Following Civil Aviation Raids

Published 8 July 2026 · local

Money Laundering Probe: ED Invokes PMLA To Freeze TMC Accounts Following Civil Aviation Raids Reported By, Last Updated: July 08, 2026, 19:36 IST Primary evidence

Money Laundering Probe: ED Invokes PMLA To Freeze TMC Accounts Following Civil Aviation Raids Reported By, Last Updated: July 08, 2026, 19:36 IST Primary evidence indicates that the TMC significantly invested its own corpus into a private aviation firm to acquire a luxury business jet and a helicopter, the ED says The enforcement action follows coordinated searches conducted by the ED at five premises in and around Kolkata. (File pic/ANI) A day after raiding a private civil aviation company, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen Rs 440.42 crore across three HDFC Bank accounts belonging to the Trinamool Congress (TMC). According to the central agency, primary evidence indicates that the political party significantly invested its own corpus into a private aviation firm to acquire a luxury business jet and a helicopter. Layered Transactions and Aircraft Purchases “Investigation revealed that around Rs 160 crore was transferred from TMC bank accounts to M/s Carewell Aviation India Pvt Ltd.

and its related entity, mostly between April 2023 and June 2026," an ED spokesperson confirmed. The probe further established that between 2023 and 2026, Carewell Aviation routed Rs 82.96 crore of this capital to a newly incorporated related entity. A total of Rs 112 crore was subsequently used by this entity to purchase an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet and an Agusta 109 Grand New helicopter. The anti-money laundering agency has also invoked foreign financial tracking to probe how an unsecured loan of USD 1.7 million was arranged in 2023 from a Cayman Islands-based entity to specifically fund the helicopter purchase. Renting Assets Back to the Party The core of the ED’s case rests on what investigators term a highly suspicious circular transaction loop. Evidence suggests that after being purchased directly from the financial corpus of the TMC, both the Embraer aircraft and the Agusta helicopter were leased back to the political party itself.

“Thereafter, substantial amounts were transferred on the pretext of aircraft usage. The above-stated dubious arrangement is under investigation to ascertain the actual beneficial purpose of the transactions," the ED alleged. Suspecting a deliberate attempt to camouflage the true movement and end-use of the funds, the ED ordered the freeze on the party’s accounts under Section 17(1-A) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Origin of the Money Laundering Probe The enforcement action follows coordinated searches conducted by the ED at five premises in and around Kolkata. The central agency’s intervention stems from a primary First Information Report (FIR) originally registered by the Cyber Police in Bidhannagar, West Bengal. The police complaint alleged dishonest financial dealings, unlawful collection of money, and the deliberate routing of suspected funds through specific bank accounts controlled by the Trinamool Congress. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Arunima Arunima is Editor (Home Affairs) and covers strategic, security and political affairs.