TMC bank accounts under scanner as cyber police probe 5 years of transactions

The cyber crime wing of the Bidhannagar City Police has launched a detailed forensic examination of three Trinamool Congress (TMC) bank accounts that were recently placed under debit freeze, as investigators probe allegations that the accounts were used to channel extortion proceeds and illegal commission money.

Sources associated with the investigation said officers at the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station in North 24-Parganas district are scrutinising transaction records spanning the past five years to trace the flow of funds through the accounts.

Investigators are examining both inward and outward transactions, focusing on the origin of deposits as well as the destinations to which money was subsequently transferred. The probe is aimed at determining whether the accounts were used to receive funds generated through unlawful activities and whether those funds were later diverted elsewhere.

Officials are also verifying key administrative details linked to the accounts, including the dates on which they were opened, the names under which they were registered and the identities of authorised signatories who operated them over the years.

According to sources, transaction patterns are being analysed for any evidence supporting allegations that money collected through extortion and illegal commissions was deposited into the accounts before being routed for other purposes.

The investigation was triggered by complaints lodged by several rebel TMC legislators at the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station. In their complaints, the legislators alleged that funds collected through extortion had been parked in the three accounts.

Acting on the complaints, police registered an FIR and initiated a formal investigation. As part of the preliminary phase of the probe, authorities instructed the concerned bank to impose a debit freeze on all three accounts, preventing any withdrawals or outward transactions.

The controversy has unfolded against the backdrop of an escalating internal power struggle within the Trinamool Congress.

Just days before the police action, former state minister and ex-party treasurer Aroop Biswas had written to the private sector bank seeking a freeze on the accounts. In his communication, Biswas cited an ongoing dispute over the control and management of party funds amid factional tensions within the ruling party.

The freeze has since sparked a legal battle.

A faction of the Trinamool Congress that continues to remain loyal to former chief minister Mamata Banerjee and party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee approached the Calcutta High Court on Monday challenging the action.

In its petition, the faction questioned the authority under which the debit freeze was imposed and sought judicial intervention to determine the legal basis for the restrictions placed on the accounts.

The case is expected to have significant political implications, as investigators continue to examine the financial trail while the legal dispute over control of the accounts plays out in court.

With IANS inputs