ED Arrests Al-Falah University Founder Jawad Siddiqui in Money Laundering Probe

The Enforcement Directorate arrested Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, founder and chairman of Al-Falah University in Faridabad, Haryana, on Tuesday evening under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, following extensive searches at 25 locations across Delhi and the National Capital Region associated with the Al-Falah group of institutions. Siddiqui, a key trustee of the Al-Falah Charitable Trust established in 1995, was produced before a special court, where the agency sought his remand for further interrogation.

The arrest emerges from two FIRs filed by the Delhi Police Crime Branch, accusing the university of perpetrating fraudulent claims regarding accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council and recognition under Section 12(B) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. Despite operating as a State Private University under Section 2(f), the institution allegedly misrepresented its status to mislead students, parents, and stakeholders for financial gain, resulting in the diversion of substantial funds to family-controlled entities and the layering of proceeds through nine shell companies registered at a single address.

Al-Falah University has been thrust into the national spotlight after three of its medical faculty members were implicated as prime suspects in the November 10 suicide bombing near Delhi's Red Fort, which claimed 13 lives. In response, Union Home Minister Amit Shah convened a one-and-a-half-hour high-level review meeting with security agencies, directing a comprehensive forensic audit of the university's financial records to trace potential terror financing networks embedded within its operations.

Also Read: Supreme Court Seeks Replies On PIL Alleging Massive Fraud By Reliance ADA Group

Investigators uncovered evidence of crores in illicit transfers from the trust to accommodation entities and family concerns, alongside the recovery of cash from trustees during the raids. The ED's probe, initiated on the basis of the police FIRs, revealed a systematic pattern of financial irregularities that sustained the group's rapid expansion since the 1990s, despite inadequate legitimate backing, raising broader concerns about institutional integrity in higher education.

Authorities emphasized that Siddiqui's effective control over the trust's activities positions him at the center of the money laundering nexus, with ongoing examinations into the shell companies' roles in obscuring fund trails. The case underscores the intersection of white-collar financial crimes and national security threats, as the ED continues to dissect the university's opaque financial architecture amid heightened scrutiny of educational institutions with alleged terror affiliations.

Also Read: #BreakingNews: ED Raids 25 Al-Falah University Premises in Massive Terror-Financing Probe