Why ED froze Trinamool Congress funds over a helicopter and aircraft
The Enforcement Directorate says funds were transferred to an aviation company to purchase an aircraft and a helicopter, which were then leased back to the party
The ED action followed searches at five premises linked to the Carewell group of companies, which operates in the aviation sector, as part of a money-laundering investigation. The probe is based on a Bidhannagar Cyber Police FIR, alleging unlawful financial transactions and routing of suspect funds through TMC bank accounts.
According to the ED, its investigation has found that around Rs 160 crore was transferred from TMC bank accounts to Carewell Aviation India Pvt Ltd. and a related entity between April 2023 and June 2026. The agency alleged that Rs 82.96 crore was subsequently routed to another related company for the purchase of an Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft and an Agusta 109 Grand New helicopter, with about Rs 112 crore ultimately used for the acquisitions. It further claimed that an unsecured loan of $1.7 million from a Cayman Islands-based entity was arranged in 2023 to finance the helicopter purchase.
Sources said Ramesh Kr Jaju and Pawan Kr Jaju have been the directors of Carewell Aviation for the past five years.
The ED alleged that the aircraft and helicopter “were subsequently rented out to the TMC itself, even though they were purchased from the corpus of TMC”, adding that “substantial amounts were transferred on the pretext of aircraft usage”. The agency said the “dubious arrangement is under investigation to ascertain the actual beneficial purpose of the transactions”.
The allegations assume significance in the backdrop of an episode in January when TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee faced a delay in flying from Kolkata to Rampurhat for a public meeting. He was scheduled to travel in a privately operated AgustaWestland AW109 helicopter from the Behala Flying Club. However, the aircraft could not take off after the required regulatory clearance was delayed. He eventually travelled to Birbhum in a helicopter sent by Hemant Soren after requesting assistance from the Jharkhand chief minister.
Abhishek had alleged that “anti-Bangla” forces had conspired to prevent him from reaching the venue and claimed that the delay was politically motivated.
At the time, aviation sources had maintained that the helicopter intended to carry Abhishek had recently been imported from the United Kingdom, reassembled in Kolkata and was awaiting regulatory clearance before undertaking its first flight in India.
There is, however, no official confirmation that the helicopter referred to in the ED investigation is the same that was scheduled to ferry Abhishek to Rampurhat in January. The ED’s press statement does not identify the helicopter by registration number or specify whether it was the helicopter used or intended to be used by the Trinamool leader.
The TMC termed the ED’s action of freezing its bank accounts as “politically motivated” and said all funds held by the party had been “fully and transparently disclosed”. In a statement, the party said it had “duly reported all donation transactions to the Election Commission of India and the Income Tax Department”, adding that these disclosures are published annually on the Election Commission’s website and are in the public domain.
The party also said details relating to electoral bonds were already available with the Union government since the bonds had been issued by the State Bank of India and later submitted to the Supreme Court.
Condemning the ED’s move, the TMC said: “The Enforcement Directorate’s decision to freeze the party’s bank accounts is a politically motivated act. We strongly condemn this arbitrary and illegal action.” It alleged that “the misuse of investigative agencies to target political opponents has become a hallmark of the BJP’s politics and represents a serious assault on democratic institutions and the principles of a level playing field”.
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The ED action followed searches at five premises linked to the Carewell group of companies, which operates in the aviation sector, as part of a money-laundering investigation. The probe is based on a Bidhannagar Cyber Police FIR, alleging unlawful financial transactions and routing of suspect funds through TMC bank accounts.
According to the ED, its investigation has found that around Rs 160 crore was transferred from TMC bank accounts to Carewell Aviation India Pvt Ltd. and a related entity between April 2023 and June 2026. The agency alleged that Rs 82.96 crore was subsequently routed to another related company for the purchase of an Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft and an Agusta 109 Grand New helicopter, with about Rs 112 crore ultimately used for the acquisitions. It further claimed that an unsecured loan of $1.7 million from a Cayman Islands-based entity was arranged in 2023 to finance the helicopter purchase.
Sources said Ramesh Kr Jaju and Pawan Kr Jaju have been the directors of Carewell Aviation for the past five years.
The ED alleged that the aircraft and helicopter “were subsequently rented out to the TMC itself, even though they were purchased from the corpus of TMC”, adding that “substantial amounts were transferred on the pretext of aircraft usage”. The agency said the “dubious arrangement is under investigation to ascertain the actual beneficial purpose of the transactions”.
The allegations assume significance in the backdrop of an episode in January when TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee faced a delay in flying from Kolkata to Rampurhat for a public meeting. He was scheduled to travel in a privately operated AgustaWestland AW109 helicopter from the Behala Flying Club. However, the aircraft could not take off after the required regulatory clearance was delayed. He eventually travelled to Birbhum in a helicopter sent by Hemant Soren after requesting assistance from the Jharkhand chief minister.
Abhishek had alleged that “anti-Bangla” forces had conspired to prevent him from reaching the venue and claimed that the delay was politically motivated.
At the time, aviation sources had maintained that the helicopter intended to carry Abhishek had recently been imported from the United Kingdom, reassembled in Kolkata and was awaiting regulatory clearance before undertaking its first flight in India.
There is, however, no official confirmation that the helicopter referred to in the ED investigation is the same that was scheduled to ferry Abhishek to Rampurhat in January. The ED’s press statement does not identify the helicopter by registration number or specify whether it was the helicopter used or intended to be used by the Trinamool leader.
The TMC termed the ED’s action of freezing its bank accounts as “politically motivated” and said all funds held by the party had been “fully and transparently disclosed”. In a statement, the party said it had “duly reported all donation transactions to the Election Commission of India and the Income Tax Department”, adding that these disclosures are published annually on the Election Commission’s website and are in the public domain.
The party also said details relating to electoral bonds were already available with the Union government since the bonds had been issued by the State Bank of India and later submitted to the Supreme Court.
Condemning the ED’s move, the TMC said: “The Enforcement Directorate’s decision to freeze the party’s bank accounts is a politically motivated act. We strongly condemn this arbitrary and illegal action.” It alleged that “the misuse of investigative agencies to target political opponents has become a hallmark of the BJP’s politics and represents a serious assault on democratic institutions and the principles of a level playing field”.
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