ED Raids 10 Locations Linked to Azam Khan and Jauhar University in Money-Laundering Probe
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches at around 10 locations across Rampur and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi in connection with a money-laundering investigation involving jailed Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University.
The searches were carried out by the ED’s Lucknow zonal office under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002). Security personnel, including CRPF teams, were deployed during the operation.
The premises under scrutiny include properties linked to the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, which operates the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur. Azam Khan is a key trustee of the organisation and founded the university in 2006.
According to officials cited by multiple reports, the ED investigation centres on the alleged diversion of government contract funds through private contractors and their subsequent use for activities connected with the trust and university.
Investigators are examining whether contractors who received government contracts subsequently routed money towards the Jauhar Trust through donations or payments connected with construction work. The agency is attempting to reconstruct the financial trail and determine whether such funds were ultimately used to create assets for the university or trust.
The searches are expected to focus on financial records, transaction documents and digital evidence that could establish the source and movement of the money under investigation. Officials are also examining transactions between certain contractors and the trust.
The operation reportedly extends beyond Rampur. Premises in Saharanpur and Delhi’s Jamia Nagar are also being searched, including properties associated with companies and individuals allegedly connected with the trust.
The latest ED action adds another layer to the long-running legal controversies surrounding Azam Khan and the Jauhar University. Khan is currently lodged in Rampur jail, while the university has faced separate disputes concerning its land and buildings.
The university is presently involved in a separate demolition-related dispute involving 38 of its 40 buildings. The Rampur Development Authority had raised objections over the construction approvals, and demolition proceedings were subsequently challenged before the authorities concerned.
The two matters are legally distinct. The ED’s current investigation concerns the alleged movement and use of funds under the PMLA, whereas the building dispute relates to alleged violations of construction and development permissions.
The raids have nevertheless placed the university under renewed scrutiny. The financial investigation could become particularly significant if investigators establish a documented connection between government-contract money, private contractors, the Jauhar Trust and assets associated with the university.
For the moment, the searches are part of an ongoing investigation. An ED search itself does not establish guilt, and the allegations being investigated will ultimately have to be supported by evidence and tested through the legal process.
The latest operation could lead to further questioning, seizures of documents or digital material and additional investigative steps, depending on what the agency finds at the 10 locations.
At the centre of the investigation is therefore the alleged money trail: whether government-contract funds were diverted, how those funds allegedly moved through private contractors, whether they reached the Jauhar Trust or university, and how the money was ultimately utilised. The evidence gathered during the searches is likely to determine the next phase of the case.
