ED searches Kolkata premises in alleged Rs 150 crore fund routing case linked to TMC

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday carried out searches at multiple locations in Kolkata as part of a money laundering probe into the alleged routing of suspect funds through bank accounts linked to the Trinamool Congress (TMC), officials said.

The agency searched around five premises, including those of Carewell Aviation, its directors and a purported electoral trust. Preliminary findings indicate that more than ₹150 crore was routed through aviation and travel companies, officials added.

The searches come weeks after Kolkata Police froze debit operations in three TMC bank accounts following complaints by rebel party MLAs, who sought an investigation into the source of the funds amid an ongoing internal tussle over control of the party's finances. The three accounts are estimated to hold nearly ₹440 crore.


The Calcutta High Court, while hearing a petition by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the TMC challenging the freeze, had on July 2 directed the private bank to disclose the corpus lying in the accounts.

The probe unfolds against the backdrop of a widening split within the TMC. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is expected to take a decision on petitions seeking the disqualification of rebel TMC MPs before the Monsoon session of Parliament begins on July 20, sources had told PTI earlier.



(With PTI inputs)