India, July 9 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen the Trinamool Congress (TMC)'s bank deposits worth Rs 440.42 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, dealing the party a severe financial setback at a critical juncture. The TMC, recently ousted from power in West Bengal by the BJP, now faces a paralysing restriction on its funds weeks after losing the state assembly elections.

The freeze hits the party when it is already reeling from internal rebellion and the challenges of operating as the principal opposition in the state. The ED has provisionally attached Rs 440.42 crore lying in three private bank accounts of the All India Trinamool Congress under Section 17(1-A) of the PMLA.

This comes after Tuesday's raids a...