The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has frozen ₹440.42 crore lying in three bank accounts of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) as part of a money laundering investigation into alleged financial irregularities and suspected diversion of party funds.
According to an ED press release issued on July 8, 2026, the agency's Kolkata Zonal Office conducted search operations at five premises in and around Kolkata under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. During the searches, balances amounting to ₹440.42 crore in three HDFC Bank accounts of the AITC were frozen under Section 17(1A) of the PMLA.
The ED said the searches were carried out in connection with an investigation based on an FIR registered by the Cyber Police, Bidhannagar, alleging dishonest financial dealings, unlawful collection of money, and routing of suspected funds through certain AITC bank accounts.
The central agency claimed its investigation found that around ₹160 crore was transferred from AITC bank accounts to Carewell Aviation India Pvt. Ltd. and a related entity, primarily between April 2023 and June 2026.
The ED further alleged that ₹82.96 crore was subsequently routed to another newly incorporated related entity for the purchase of an Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft and an Agusta 109 Grand New helicopter.
"Investigation revealed that around Rs. 160 Crore (approx.) was transferred from AITC bank accounts to M/s Carewell Aviation India Pvt. Ltd. and its related entity, mostly between April 2023 to June 2026," the ED said in its statement.
According to the agency, ₹112 crore was used for these purchases. It also alleged that an unsecured loan of USD 1.7 million was arranged in 2023 from a Cayman Islands-based entity to facilitate the purchase of the helicopter.
The ED further claimed that the Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft and the Agusta helicopter were later rented out to the AITC, despite allegedly being purchased using funds originating from the party's accounts.
"These Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft and Agusta helicopter were subsequently rented out to AITC itself, even though they were purchased from the corpus of AITC," the agency alleged.
The agency also alleged that substantial amounts were transferred on the pretext of aircraft usage, adding that the financial arrangement is under investigation to determine the actual beneficiaries and purpose of the transactions.
"The above stated dubious arrangement is under investigation to ascertain the actual beneficial purpose of the transactions," the ED said.
The Enforcement Directorate said that further investigation is underway.
