The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted searches at five premises in and around Kolkata in connection with alleged dishonest financial dealings, unlawful collection of money, and routing of suspected funds through certain bank accounts of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). The searches were carried out at premises linked to the private firm – Carewell group of companies operating in the aviation sector, its directors, and one purported electoral trust.

 

According to the ED’s preliminary investigation, more than one fifty crore rupees were routed through aviation and travel companies for suspicious purposes. The agency has revealed that around one sixty crore rupees was transferred from AITC accounts to the private aviation firm and its related entity between April 2023 and June this year. It said that the private firm further routed over eighty two crore rupees between 2023 and this year to another newly incorporated related entity.

 

The ED said searches have revealed that a significant amount was transferred to a related entity of the private firm for the purchase of an Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft and an Agusta 109 SP helicopter. It said 112 crore rupees was used for these purchases. The agency has also alleged that some foreign funding was utilised for the purchase of the Agusta helicopter, while most of the funds were sourced directly from AITC accounts.

 

According to the ED, the Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft and the Agusta helicopter were subsequently rented out to AITC, despite having been purchased using funds from the party’s corpus. It alleged that substantial amounts were later transferred on the pretext of aircraft usage. The agency said the arrangement appears highly dubious and seems designed to camouflage the actual beneficial purpose of the transactions, which is under investigation.