New Delhi, November 19 (). The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui in a money laundering case related to Al Falah Charitable Trust. The arrest was made under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
ED had started its investigation in this case on the basis of two FIRs registered by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police. The FIR alleged that Al-Falah University, Faridabad, had fraudulently claimed NAAC accreditation to defraud students and parents, even though the university did not have UGC affiliation.
The ED investigation revealed that Al-Falah Trust, which was established in 1995, lacked adequate financial resources but despite this, it expanded tremendously since the 1990s. The investigation also found that the Trust transferred its income to family institutions and for this, gave construction and catering contracts to institutions belonging to its family members.
On November 18, the ED conducted search operations at 19 locations in Delhi, including Al Falah University and residential complexes of key individuals associated with the trust. During the search, ED recovered cash worth more than Rs 48 lakh, digital devices and important documents. Apart from this, many fake companies being run on behalf of the Trust were also detected.
A lot of evidence has come to light regarding the role of Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, which clearly shows his pattern of misappropriation of funds in family affairs and concealment of the proceeds of crime. On the basis of this evidence, ED arrested Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui.
Earlier, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) had issued a show cause notice to Al-Falah University for making fake accreditation claims of the university. Apart from this, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also started investigation regarding the funding of the university.
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SAK/PAK
