NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided five places in Kolkata on Tuesday, searching for the source of large transactions carried out through Trinamool Congress (TMC) bank accounts.
The raid was also to investigate the source of the funding for chartered flights used by party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
"The federal probing agency began search operations early Tuesday in Central Avenue, Rajarhat-New Town and adjoining areas," said ED sources,
Among the premises searches include premises of Carewell Aviation and one purported electoral trust, and the office and residence of a businessman close to Banerjee.
“Funds used to rent chartered flights for Banerjee were allegedly routed through the businessman's firm, Carewell Aviation,” the agency official said.
The federal investigation agency started a probe after a complaint was filed by TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee.
Banerjee alleged the chartered flight rentals were financed through “cut-money,” or extortion commissions and protection rackets.
"The agency raided to verify the allegations and to trace the banking trail behind the expenditure," sources said.
The probing agency said that during the preliminary enquiry, it found that more than Rs 160 crore was routed through multiple aviation and travel companies for “suspicious purposes”, the ED said, as the agency traces the flow of suspicious funds through TMC's official accounts.
"Investigators found that around Rs 160 crore was transferred from AITC accounts to Carewell Aviation India Pvt Ltd and a related entity between April 2023 and June 2026," ED sources said.
"Carewell Aviation further routed Rs 82.96 crore between 2023 and 2026 to another newly incorporated related entity," the sources said.
A significant portion of the funds was used by a Carewell-linked entity to purchase an Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft and an Agusta 109 SP helicopter, for Rs 112 crore on the two acquisitions, the sources said.
"Foreign funding was also used toward the helicopter purchase, though most of the money was sourced directly from AITC accounts," they said.
"The aircraft and helicopter were then rented out to AITC itself, even though they had been bought using the party's own funds, and substantial payments were subsequently transferred to the Carewell entities on the pretext of aircraft usage charges," the sources added.
It is pertinent to mention that a legal battle over control of TMC's finances started after a split within the party.
Former party treasurer Aroop Biswas, after switching camps, asked banks to freeze TMC's accounts, which led to litigation before the Calcutta High Court.
The high court on Tuesday declined to grant an urgent hearing sought by the “Kalighat Trinamool” faction, having rejected similar requests previously.
