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ED freezes TMC's ₹440 crore bank deposits under PMLA

Published July 8, 2026 at 1:14 PM UTC

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen ₹440 crore in bank deposits belonging to the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This action follows searches in a funds misappropriation case. The funds are held in three private bank accounts of the TMC. The ED's preliminary investigation revealed that approximately ₹160 crore was transferred from the TMC's accounts to Carewell Aviation India Pvt. Ltd. and its related entities between April 2023 and June 2026. The company allegedly routed ₹82.96 crore to another newly incorporated entity, which used ₹112 crore to purchase an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet and an AgustaWestland 109SP helicopter. These assets were then rented to the TMC. The ED conducted raids at five premises in Kolkata, including those of the Carewell Group of Companies, which operates Carewell Aviation. The TMC has not yet responded to these developments. Previously, Kolkata police froze debit operations on these accounts following complaints from rebel TMC MLAs seeking an investigation into the source of the funds. The Calcutta High Court, while hearing a petition filed by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the TMC challenging the debit freeze, directed the private bank authorities to disclose the corpus held in those accounts.