The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday filed a prosecution complaint against Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui, chairman of the Al-Falah Group, and the Al-Falah Charitable Trust in a money-laundering probe linked
to allegedly fake accreditation claims made by a Faridabad-based university on its website made for nearly a decade, officials said.The anti-money laundering agency has also provisionally attached 54 acres of the university’s assets, comprising land, buildings, schools, laboratories and hospitals. The total value of the attachment stands at ₹139.1 crore. Officials said the provisionally attached assets will be handed over to a government-appointed receiver to ensure that students of Al-Falah institutions do not suffer.
The ED investigation stems from two FIRs registered by the Delhi Police Crime Branch, alleging that the university falsely claimed NAAC accreditation and cheated students who enrolled on that basis.“Investigations revealed that the university website continued to display NAAC ‘Grade A’ accreditation claims even after the expiry of accreditation, and also claimed UGC 12(B) recognition despite indications that the university did not possess such status,” officials said.On November 18, the ED arrested Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui, the founder-chairman of the Al-Falah Group.“Al-Falah Charitable Trust was constituted through a public charitable trust deed dated September 8, 1995, with Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui named as one of the first trustees and designated as the managing trustee,” the ED had said in November.“All the educational institutions, including the university and colleges, are owned and financially consolidated under this trust, which is effectively controlled by Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui. The entire Al-Falah Group has seen a meteoric rise since the 1990s, transforming into a large educational body. However, this rise is not backed by adequate financials,” the agency said.During the investigation, the ED found that crores of rupees were diverted by the trust to family-owned entities. A scrutiny of university records revealed that the aggregate income generated on account of accreditation-linked admissions was around ₹415.10 crore.
“Investigations revealed layering and integration of suspected proceeds of crime into educational and charitable structures,” sources said, adding that the probe also uncovered fraudulent land acquisitions and diversion of charitable funds.After taking Siddiqui into custody and examining the records of the Al-Falah Charitable Trust, the ED found that the construction of a hostel complex in Dauj, Faridabad, was carried out by a company controlled by Siddiqui’s family members.“Similarly, catering services were awarded to another company controlled by Siddiqui’s family,” sources said.A 500-square-yard plot in Madanpur Khadar, south-east Delhi, was purchased in 2013 in the name of Tarbia Education Foundation. The investigation revealed that land bearing Khasra No. 792 in Madanpur Khadar was fraudulently acquired through a forged General Power of Attorney (GPA) dated January 7, 2004, purportedly executed by multiple landowners who had already died between 1972 and 1998.The forged GPA was subsequently used to sell the land to Tarbia Education Foundation. It was further found that the Al-Falah Charitable Trust donated funds in multiple tranches to Tarbia Education Foundation, which were ultimately used to purchase approximately one acre of land at Khasra No. 792. University funds were thus diverted to fraudulently acquire the land.
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