The Enforcement Directorate has attached land and buildings of the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Uttar Pradesh, promoted by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, in a money laundering case against him, the central agency said on Wednesday.The attached properties, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), linked to the former Uttar Pradesh minister have an estimated current market value of approximately Rs 1,170 crore, according to the agency.The university and its campus in Rampur are owned by the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, which was founded and is controlled by Khan. He is also the university's honorary chancellor.According to the ED, its investigation has uncovered the alleged diversion of government funds, construction materials and other public resources towards the development of the private university.
The agency has claimed that a substantial portion of the campus's construction cost could not be accounted for through legitimate sources, identifying Rs 426.46 crore as alleged proceeds of crime. The ED said only Rs 72.63 crore of the total cost could be explained through legitimate sources.
It also said that Rs 12.29 crore in donations, which the trust reported as capital expenditure, was found to be non-genuine.GOVERNMENT FUNDS, CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL DIVERTEDThe investigation has revealed that government funds meant for public works were diverted towards the university, government-funded projects were executed on its private campus and contractors who received government contracts routed money back to the trust as donations. Khan was a cabinet minister in the Uttar Pradesh government under Akhilesh Yadav in 2015 and 2016, holding the Urban Development portfolio.
The Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, which executed the works on the university campus, functioned under his department, the agency said.The ED said that the managing director of a company that received Public Works Department (PWD) contracts worth approximately Rs 186 crore allegedly admitted that 30 to 40 per cent of the contract value was used to purchase construction materials for the university.Partners of another firm allegedly told investigators that they operated under Khan's influence and that their firm had donated Rs 40 lakh to the trust.The ED also alleged that works worth Rs 6.6 crore had been executed on the university's private campus using MLA/MLC local area development funds. These works were carried out by the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, which was headed by Khan at the time, according to the agency.The Uttar Pradesh government had sanctioned Rs 23.41 crore for the construction of a pandal, an OBC boys' hostel and a hospital block on the university campus.
The agency has particularly highlighted the construction of the pandal, for which Rs 12.16 crore was sanctioned in 2015.According to the ED, the original government order stipulated that ownership of the structure would remain with the state’s Culture Department. It also specified that the pandal could not be sold or transferred and would be made available free of cost for use by the state government.However, a subsequent order issued in 2016 allegedly transferred ownership of the pandal to Jauhar University and removed the condition requiring the structure to be made available for government use.The ED initiated its money laundering investigation on the basis of 26 FIRs registered at Azeem Nagar police station in Rampur.
The FIRs alleged that agricultural land belonging to farmers had been forcibly taken over for the university.The agency also cited an enquiry report by the Rampur district administration, which alleged that 45 plots of enemy property, measuring approximately 34 acres in Singhankhera village, had been illegally occupied for the university.According to the report, the occupation continued despite the cancellation of the land’s lease to the trust by the Custodian of Enemy Property. The ED said possession of the land had subsequently been taken back by the Custodian of Enemy Property under the Ministry of Home Affairs through the district administration.During the investigation, the ED shared information with the Uttar Pradesh Police regarding the alleged diversion of government funds and related irregularities.Following this, an FIR was registered at Azeem Nagar police station earlier this month against Khan, the trust and others.
The ED has also taken up 28 other FIRs and charge sheets have been filed in most of these cases, the agency added.Azam Khan is in jail following convictions in multiple criminal cases, including a 10-year sentence in a dual PAN card forgery case and a 2-year sentence for 2019 election campaign remarks.- Ends