ED raids 5 Kolkata locations in case linked to TMC bank accounts

Kolkata/New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted searches at multiple locations in Kolkata as part of an investigation linked to the alleged routing of funds from TMC's bank accounts for the purchase of an Embraer jet and an AgustaWestland helicopter, officials said.

A total of five premises located in the capital city of West Bengal were covered including those of the Carewell Group of Companies which also operates a private jet and charter hiring entity named Carewell Aviation, they said.

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A response from the Kolkata-based non-scheduled aircraft operator to a PTI query is awaited. A reaction from the TMC too is awaited.

Officials said the central agency's preliminary investigation found that about Rs 160 crore was transferred from TMC's bank accounts to Carewell Aviation India Pvt Ltd and its related entity between April 2023-June 2026.

The company is alleged to have further routed Rs 82.96 crore (between 2023-“2026) to another newly incorporated entity. It was found that a "significant" amount was transferred to this entity, and out of this, Rs 112 crore was used for purchasing an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet and a AgustaWestland 109SP helicopter.

The officials claimed that some foreign funds were also utilised for the purchase of the chopper.

However, most of the funds were sourced directly from the accounts of the TMC, they alleged, adding that these two aviation assets were "rented" to the political party which recently lost power to the BJP in the state.

"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.

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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.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will take decisions on the defections in the TMC before the start of the Monsoon session of Parliament on July 20, sources recently told PTI. This came after demands of the rebel MPs' disqualification by their parent party.

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