ED may attach Al Falah University campus under PMLA
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New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate is likely to provisionally attach the Al Falah University campus in Haryana’s Faridabad under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, following its emergence in investigations linked to the Red Fort area blast, official sources said on Sunday.
The federal probe agency is examining whether funds used for constructing the university were sourced from alleged proceeds of crime. According to sources, part of the illicit funds identified in the case are suspected to have been diverted into building various structures at the university, located in the Dhauj area of Faridabad.
Al Falah Group chairman Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in November on money laundering charges related to alleged cheating of students enrolled in institutions run by the Al Falah Trust. The agency has claimed that these educational institutions did not possess valid accreditation required to conduct courses.
The Enforcement Directorate is currently identifying and valuing movable and immovable assets of the Al Falah Trust, which owns all institutions under the group, including the university. Once the investigation is completed, the agency is expected to issue an order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to provisionally attach assets found to be derived from or created using proceeds of crime.
Sources indicated that even if the campus is attached, students may be allowed to continue their studies without interruption in the interest of their academics. Asset attachment under the law is meant to prevent the dissipation, sale or transfer of proceeds of crime.
A government-appointed receiver may take over or be vested with the administration of the university once the provisional attachment attains finality, ensuring that academic activities continue even as criminal proceedings and prosecution move forward, the sources added.
While seeking Siddiqui’s remand in November, the Enforcement Directorate had told a court that the university and its controlling trust, under his direction, generated proceeds of crime amounting to at least ₹415.10 crore by allegedly dishonestly inducing students and parents to part with money through false claims of accreditation and recognition.
The agency is also probing at least five cases in which documents related to General Power of Attorney for acquiring land parcels in Delhi were allegedly forged at the behest of the Siddiqui-linked trust, sources said.
The role of the university came to light during investigations into a so-called “white-collar” terror module, in which more than 10 people, including three doctors, were arrested by the National Investigation Agency and Jammu and Kashmir Police. Umar-un-Nabi, a doctor associated with the Al Falah medical college, was identified as the suicide bomber who rammed an explosive-laden car into the Red Fort area on November 10 last year, killing 15 people.
The Enforcement Directorate registered its case against Siddiqui and the Al Falah Group on November 14 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after taking cognisance of two FIRs filed by the Delhi Police.
The agency has alleged that the Al Falah University falsely projected itself as a University Grants Commission-recognised institution and misrepresented its National Assessment and Accreditation Council accreditation status. NAAC is an autonomous body funded by the University Grants Commission that assesses and accredits higher education institutions in India.
Siddiqui’s lawyer has told the court that his client has been falsely implicated and that the two Delhi Police FIRs are “false and fabricated”.
The Enforcement Directorate has further claimed that the Al Falah Group witnessed a “meteoric rise” since the 1990s, transforming into a large educational conglomerate over the years.
With PTI inputs
