Did the Trinamool Congress finance a luxury jet and helicopter only to lease them back from the same company? This question lies at the heart of an Enforcement Directorate money laundering inquiry into the party’s accounts. The agency has also frozen three TMC bank accounts holding Rs 440 crore, a step the party described as politically motivated. This marks the first instance of the ED examining the funding of a political party on its own. Earlier probes into the AAP occurred within the Delhi liquor policy case. The move adds pressure on the TMC amid multiple ongoing cases involving its leaders. The inquiry began with raids on Carewell Aviation India Pvt Ltd, a Kolkata firm set up in September 2021. The ED stated that Rs 160 crore moved from TMC accounts to the company between April 2023 and June 2026, with Rs 82.96 crore later sent to another new entity. These funds reportedly bought an Embraer Legacy 600 jet and an Agusta 109 SP helicopter for about Rs 112 crore. An additional Rs 16 crore came from a Cayman Islands entity in 2023 for the helicopter. The ED noted that both aircraft were then leased back to the TMC for charter use. The agency suspects the arrangement may have aimed to obscure the flow of party funds. The probe follows an FIR by Bidhanagar Police based on a complaint by a rebel TMC legislator. The party has rejected the claims, stating all donations were reported to the Election Commission and Income Tax Department and accusing the BJP of misusing agencies.
