ED attaches over Rs 39 crore assets of Al-Falah chairman
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday attached assets worth `39.45 crore belonging to Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui, chairman of the Al-Falah Group, and the Al-Falah Charitable Trust.
The provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) freezes a residential house in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar, Okhla area, agricultural land at Dhauj village in Faridabad, adjacent to the university campus, Demat holdings, bank balances and fixed deposits.
The action forms part of the first money laundering case registered by the ED against Siddiqui and the trust. The ED has traced Rs 493.24 crore in proceeds of crime generated by the Al-Falah Charitable Trust and Al-Falah University between financial years 2016-17 and 2024-25.
Investigators allege these funds were diverted to entities controlled by Siddiqui and his family, including Karkun Construction and Developers, Amla Enterprises LLP and Diyala Construction and Developers, with some amounts allegedly siphoned abroad. The university first came under the scanner during a probe into a “white-collar” terror module linked to the November 10, 2025, Red Fort car blast in Delhi that killed 15 people.
In January 2026, the ED filed a chargesheet against Siddiqui and the trust. The same month, it attached the Al-Falah University campus itself, valued at Rs 144.09 crore.
Siddiqui (61) remains in judicial custody at Tihar Jail. He was first arrested in November 2025 for allegedly cheating students by misrepresenting the accreditation and recognition of his institutions. Last month, he was re-arrested in a separate case involving the fraudulent acquisition of a Rs 45 crore plot in Delhi.
The latest attachment comes weeks after the Haryana government placed Al-Falah University under direct administrative control in March 2026.
Senior IAS officer Amit K. Aggarwal was appointed administrator following an inquiry that flagged governance lapses, financial irregularities and statutory violations. The move was enabled by the Haryana Private Universities (Amendment) Act, 2025. Teaching staff and operations for the roughly 1,700 students have been kept largely unchanged to ensure continuity.
