New Delhi, July 8 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday carried out raids on properties linked to a flight charter firm in and around Kolkata as part of its investigation into allegedly suspicious transactions from the bank accounts of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), people familiar with the development said. The transactions pertain to a period when the party was led by former chief minister Mamata Banerjee, officers of the financial crimes investigation agency said on condition of anonymity. Her party colleague said the allegations were politically motivated. In the wake of a defeat at the hands of the BJP in this year's assembly elections, a section of leaders and workers led by Ritabrata Banerjee, split from the party, naming their own chairman and laying claim to the party's symbol and assets, including bank accounts. Debit transactions in three of these accounts have been frozen by police after complaints by the rebel faction seeking the source of funds. The freeze has been challenged in court by the Mamata-led faction. The officers cited above did not reveal in which bank the accounts that are being probed were held or if they are the same accounts that were frozen. They said the raids were on premises linked to Carewell Aviation India Pvt Ltd and its directors, as well as an electoral trust. Preliminary investigations revealed that "funds worth around Rs 160 crores were transferred from AITC accounts to Carewell Aviation India Pvt Ltd and its related entity, tentatively between April 2023 and June 2026". Carewell Aviation, an officer added, "further routed an amount of Rs 82.96 crore between 2023 and 2026 to another newly incorporated related entity". A second officer said that Tuesday's searches revealed that "a significant amount travelled to a related entity of Carewell Aviation for purchasing an aircraft , an Embraer Legacy 600 and one helicopter, an Agusta 109 SP ". "An amount of Rs 112 crore was used for making the said purchases," he added. The ED probe also revealed, according to the second officer, that "some foreign funding has also been utilised for making the purchase of the Agusta chopper. However, most of the funds have been sourced directly from the accounts of AITC". Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien, a leader in the Mamata Banerjee camp, stated the allegations were politically motivated. Carwell Aviation's website says it specialises in a range of solutions including private jet charters, aircraft management, aircraft sales and acquisition, aircraft leasing and consultation. Calls made by HT on the numbers provided on its website remained unanswered....