Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday froze three HDFC Bank accounts of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) holding Rs 440.42 crore as part of a money laundering probe into an alleged fund trail linked to the Carewell Group. The Trinamool Congress termed the action “politically motivated”, calling it an arbitrary and illegal misuse of central investigative agencies to target political opponents.
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The action followed searches conducted by the ED’s Kolkata Zonal Office at five premises in and around Kolkata under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. According to the agency, the investigation pertains to alleged dishonest financial dealings, unlawful collection of money and the routing of suspected funds through certain bank accounts of the Trinamool Congress.
The latest freeze comes weeks after the TMC’s bank accounts were frozen in connection with a separate controversy following a complaint by a group of rebel party MLAs, who sought a probe into the alleged money trail linked to the party’s funds. While that action stemmed from the Election Commission’s scrutiny after the legislators’ complaint, the present freeze has been carried out by the ED under the PMLA as part of its investigation into the alleged routing of funds through Carewell Aviation and its related entities.
According to the ED, its probe has revealed that nearly Rs 160 crore was transferred from AITC’s bank accounts to Carewell Aviation India Pvt Ltd and its related entities between April 2023 and June 2026.
The agency alleged that Carewell Aviation subsequently routed Rs 82.96 crore to another newly incorporated related entity for the purchase of an Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft and an Agusta 109 Grand New helicopter, with approximately Rs 112 crore being used for the acquisitions.
The ED further claimed that $1.7 million was arranged as an unsecured loan from a Cayman Islands-based entity in 2023 to finance the purchase of the helicopter.
According to the probe agency, the Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft and the Agusta helicopter were later leased back to the Trinamool Congress, despite allegedly being purchased using funds originating from the party’s corpus. The ED said substantial amounts were subsequently transferred by the party towards the use of the aircraft and helicopter, describing the arrangement as “dubious” and stating that it is investigating the actual beneficial purpose behind the transactions.
The agency said further investigation into the alleged money trail is underway.
TMC CALLS ACTION ‘POLITICALLY MOTIVATED’
Reacting to the ED’s action, the Trinamool Congress rejected the allegations and asserted that all funds held in its bank accounts have been fully disclosed in accordance with the law.
In a statement, the party said all donation transactions had been duly reported to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Income Tax Department, with annual disclosures available in the public domain on the ECI’s website.
The party also said details relating to electoral bonds were already available with the Government of India, as the bonds were issued by the State Bank of India and subsequently submitted before the Supreme Court.
Calling the freezing of its bank accounts “arbitrary” and “illegal”, the TMC alleged that the ED’s action was politically motivated. It accused the BJP-led Centre of misusing investigative agencies to target political opponents, saying such actions have become a hallmark of the BJP’s politics and represent a serious assault on democratic institutions and the principle of a level playing field.
The Enforcement Directorate has not responded to the Trinamool Congress’s allegations of political vendetta. Further investigation into the case is underway.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
