New Delhi [India], November 18 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it has arrested Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, chairman of Al Falah group, in a money laundering case.
Siddiqui has been arrested under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. He was arrested following a detailed investigation and analysis of evidence gathered during a search conducted earlier on Tuesday at premises related to the Al Falah group, as part of the ongoing Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) recorded by the ED under PMLA in connection with the Al Falah Group.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified its probe into Al-Falah University by expanding it to the financial operations of the Al-Falah Trust, its associated firms, and the personnel managing the institution's administrative and financial systems.
The Al Falah University has come under scrutiny after the arrest of several doctors in connection with the November 10 blast near Delhi's Red Fort, which killed 15 people and injured many others. The suicide bomber, Dr Umar Un Nabi, a Kashmiri resident, was associated with the varsity.
ED initiated an investigation against the Al Falah group on the basis of two FIRs registered by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police, based on the allegations that Faridabad-based Al-Falah University has made fraudulent and misleading claims of National Assessment Accreditation Council (NAAC) accreditation with an intention to deceive students, parents, and stakeholders for wrongful gain.
It has been further mentioned in FIR that Al-Falah University has falsely claimed University Grants Commission (UGC) recognition under Section 12(B) of the UGC Act, 1956, with an oblique motive to cheat the aspirants, students, parents, guardians, stakeholders and general public to gain wrongfully and cause wrongful loss to them.
The UGC clarified that Al-Falah University is included only under Section 2(f) as a State Private University, has never applied for inclusion under Section 12(B), and is not eligible for grants under that provision.
Al-Falah Charitable Trust was constituted by a public charitable trust deed dated September 8, 1995, with Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui named as one of the first trustees and designated as the Managing Trustee, the ED said.
"All the educational institutions (university and colleges) are ultimately owned and financially consolidated under this trust, which is effectively controlled by Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui. The entire Al-Falah group has seen a meteoric rise since the 1990s, metamorphosing into a large educational body. However, the rise is not backed by adequate financials."
ED has conducted search operations at 19 locations in Delhi earlier in the day on Tuesday, including the premises of Al Falah University and residential premises of key persons of the Al Falah group.
ED said its investigation has revealed that "large amounts of proceeds of crime have been generated. Evidence reveals that crores of rupees have been diverted by the trust to family-owned entities."
"For example, the construction as well as catering contracts were given by trust and Jawad Ahmad to entities of his wife and children", it said.
During the search, ED said, cash of over 48 lakhs, multiple digital devices and documentary evidence were found and seized.
"Multiple shell companies of the group have been identified. Numerous violations under several other Acts have also been detected," the agency mentioned in a statement.
The role of Siddiqui in effectively controlling the trust and its activities has been brought out by multiple pieces of evidence, said the ED, adding "exhaustive evidence, including recovery of cash from trustees' diversion of funds to family concern, layering of funds, etc., clearly establishes the pattern of generation and layering of proceeds of crime."
After establishing his culpability in the offence, Siddiqui was arrested under Section 19 of the PMLA, 2002, in accordance with due legal procedure.
He has been produced before the court to seek ED remand.
The financial probe runs parallel to wider scrutiny faced by Al-Falah University after recent multi-agency investigations examined certain doctors affiliated with its medical college for alleged links to suspects in the deadly Delhi car blast case.
The suicide bombing left 15 dead and over two dozen injured when the blast occurred in a moving Hyundai i20 car near the iconic Red Fort at around 7 pm on November 10.
Meanwhile, a special NIA court at Patiala House Court in the national capital today remanded Jasir Bilal Wani alias Danish to 10 days National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody in the probe in connection with the November 10 blast in the city.
He was produced before the court today amidst heavy security.
Principal District and Session judge (Special NIA Judge) Anju Bajaj Chandana, after a closed courtroom hearing, remanded Wani to NIA custody.
As per court sources, the NIA submitted before the court that they need his custody to unearth the larger conspiracy behind the November 10 blast near the Red Fort in the city.
The NIA said that the blast was aimed at striking terror and panic in the minds of people in the country, as well as to threaten public order.
While seeking the remand, the NIA also highlighted the role of Jasir alias Danish, who they said was an expert in drones and was contacted to design a precision rocket.
Jasir, a Kashmiri resident, was arrested in Srinagar yesterday by an NIA team that was in the Kashmir Valley.
NIA, in a press release, said that investigations have revealed that Jasir had allegedly provided technical support for carrying out terror attacks by modifying drones and attempting to make rockets ahead of the deadly car bomb blast, which killed 15 people and left several injured.
The accused, a resident of Qazigund in Anantnag district of J-K, was an active co-conspirator behind the attack and had worked closely with the terrorist, Umar un Nabi, to plan the terror carnage, the NIA said.
Jasir was produced before the court, the Patiala House court, along with other district courts in the city, received bomb threats, which later turned out to be a hoax.
Counter-Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) also conducted raids at several locations across the Kashmir valley on Tuesday morning, according to the CIK officials. The raids came in the backdrop of the ongoing probe into the blast near the Red Fort in Delhi, which killed 15 individuals and left several injured on November 10.
NIA is continuing to explore various angles to unravel the conspiracy behind the bombing. Several teams of the anti-terror agency are pursuing multiple leads and are conducting searches across states to identify every person involved in the terror attack.