ED may attach Al-Falah campus to PMLA probe
New Delhi, Jan. 12 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is likely to soon attach the campus of Al-Falah University in Faridabad as part of its money laundering investigation, which was initiated following the Red Fort blast in Delhi last year, officials familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
Confirming the development, an ED officer said, "We are considering attaching the property, including the campus of Al-Falah, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act."
As first reported by HT on December 25, the ED has found that firms controlled by family members of Al-Falah University chairman Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui allegedly received contracts for hostel catering and construction of the university and hospital complex. The agency has also claimed that a trust linked to Siddiqui acquired land using university funds. The ED is probing if funds used to build the varsity were sourced from alleged proceeds of crime.
Siddiqui was arrested by the ED in November on money laundering charges linked to alleged cheating of students at institutions run by the Al-Falah Trust. The agency has claimed the institutions lacked valid accreditation to teach.
While seeking Siddiqui's remand in November, the ED told a court that the university and its controlling trust generated "proceeds of crime" worth at least Rs.415.10 crore by "dishonestly" inducing students and parents through false claims of accreditation and recognition.
The case has links to a wider probe into a white-collar terror module, in which more than 30 people, including three doctors, have been arrested by the National Investigation Agency and Jammu and Kashmir Police. The university's role emerged after Umar-un-Nabi, a doctor at Al-Falah Medical College, carried out a suicide car bombing outside the Red Fort on November 10 last year, killing 12 people.
The ED registered its case on November 14 after taking cognisance of two FIRs filed by the Delhi Police. It has been alleged that Al-Falah University falsely claimed UGC recognition and misrepresented its National Assessment and Accreditation Council accreditation status....
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