Red Fort Blast Probe: ED Files Charge Sheet Against Al-Falah University Chairman, Attaches Rs 139 Crore Assets

The Enforcement Directorate has filed a charge sheet against Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, chairman of Faridabad-based Al-Falah University, and the Al-Falah Charitable Trust as part of a money laundering investigation linked to the November 10 terror attack near Delhi's Red Fort.

The agency has also attached assets worth ₹139 crore, including a 54-acre land parcel located within the university campus, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

ED files charge sheet, attaches ₹139 crore assets

Officials familiar with the matter said the charge sheet was filed on Friday and contains evidence pointing to alleged financial irregularities committed by Siddiqui and his family members. The attached assets include land and properties that the ED believes were acquired using proceeds generated through unlawful activities linked to the university and its associated entities.

Siddiqui was arrested on November 18 on money laundering charges. The ED had then accused Al-Falah University of making "fraudulent and misleading claims" about its accreditation to deceive students, parents and other stakeholders for wrongful financial gain. The agency told a court that the university and its controlling trust had allegedly generated "proceeds of crime" worth at least ₹415.10 crore by "dishonestly" inducing students and parents through false claims of recognition.

Related-party transactions and diversion of university funds

According to the ED probe, firms allegedly controlled by the Siddiqui family received contracts related to hostel catering and construction work for the university and its hospital complex. The agency has also claimed that Al-Falah Charitable Trust acquired land using university funds.

Investigations revealed that construction of the medical college and hospital complex at Dhauj in Faridabad was carried out by Karkun Construction and Developers, a partnership firm in which Siddiqui's son Afham Ahmed and daughter Afiya Siddiqa hold 49 per cent share each, while the remaining 2 per cent is held by an employee.

"Similarly, hostel catering contracts were awarded to Amla Enterprises LLP, in which his wife Usma Akhtar holds 49%, son holds 49% and the remaining 2% is in the name of an ex-employee."

A firm, Star Foods, owned by Siddiqui's brother, supplied food items to the university till 2016. "The firms are effectively run/controlled by Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui and such related-party transactions were not disclosed in returns of income and/or other statutory filings of the trust/associated entities," a second officer said.

Terror probe links and Red Fort blast connection

The money laundering case is linked to a wider investigation into an alleged white-collar terror module. More than two dozen people, including three doctors, have been arrested by the National Investigation Agency and the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

The university came under scrutiny 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 at least 11 people. While the ED is probing the financial trail, the NIA is separately investigating the terrorism angle related to the blast.

Overseas entities and regulatory violations under scanner

The ED has also flagged overseas links involving the Siddiqui family. Officials said foreign filings describe Siddiqui's children as British nationals, and their citizenship status is currently being examined.

"Al-Falah Charitable Trust, Al-Falah University, Al-Falah School of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, and other related persons and entities have been thoroughly investigated over the last two months. We have found that there is an organised layering and integration of suspected proceeds of crime into educational/charitable structure at the university, fraudulent land acquisition and diversion of charitable funds, undisclosed related-party transactions and cross-border holdings," an ED officer said.

The agency also found that Ennoble Education and Training Limited was incorporated in the United Kingdom in May this year with initial shareholding linked to Siddiqui's son and daughter, followed by changes involving a UK-based close associate. Investigators further alleged that Tarbia Education Foundation, another entity linked to Siddiqui, acquired land in Delhi's Madanpur Khadar village using diverted university funds. The ED has also pointed to multiple violations of regulatory norms involving bodies such as the NMC, UGC and NAAC, along with indications that Siddiqui has settled his family abroad.