The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen bank deposits worth approximately ₹440 crore belonging to the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Kolkata under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).The action forms part of an ongoing money laundering investigation into financial transactions linked to the party's bank accounts.

According to the agency, it is examining allegations that more than ₹150 crore was routed through a network of aviation, travel and allied service companies.

Investigators suspect that funds used to finance chartered flights during the TMC's 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign may have been layered through multiple entities to conceal their origin.

The probe was initiated after a complaint filed in June alleged that proceeds from a major cyber fraud had been transferred into certain TMC bank accounts.

Following the complaint, the police registered an FIR and froze debit transactions from three party accounts before the ED took over the money laundering aspect of the investigation under the PMLA.

The agency is now scrutinising at least 18 TMC bank accounts along with transactions involving firms including Carewell Travels, Windborne Aviation and Anita Tours.

As part of the investigation, ED officials conducted searches at five locations in Kolkata, including the offices of Carewell Travels, an electoral trust and a chartered accountant.During these searches, investigators seized documents and electronic devices.

The agency is also examining aircraft acquisitions made by Carewell Aviation between 2023 and 2026 to determine whether those purchases were connected to the suspected financial transactions.The investigation is ongoing, and no judicial determination of guilt has been reported in connection with these allegations.