The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated a money laundering investigation into transactions involving three Trinamool Congress bank accounts with recent “debit restrictions” imposed by the West Bengal Police. Multiple ED teams, supported by heavily armed Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel, conducted raids and searches at various locations simultaneously as part of the probe.
One of the locations searched was the office of an aviation company that allegedly provided chartered flight services to Trinamool Congress leaders, including Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, for election campaigns and official travel. The party’s three bank accounts, collectively holding around Rs 440 crore, had debit restrictions imposed last month following developments after the TMC’s defeat in the recent assembly elections.
The first trigger for the restrictions was a letter from the party’s former treasurer and ex-West Bengal Sports and Power Minister Aroop Biswas to the bank, requesting an account freeze due to concerns of potential misuse of funds. Subsequently, MLAs from the “rebel but majority” faction of the Trinamool Congress approached the West Bengal Police with similar fears, alleging possible corruption and extortion proceeds in the accounts.
Responding to these concerns, the police instructed the bank to enforce debit restrictions on the accounts. The “original but minority” faction of the party, led by Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, challenged this action in the Calcutta High Court, which declined interim relief and upheld the restrictions. The ED has now launched its own investigation into the matter, considering the allegations of money laundering through these accounts.
