New Delhi: Nearly two weeks after arresting senior Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister Mohammed Azam Khan, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Thursday moved him to Delhi for custodial interrogation in the ongoing money laundering probe related to his Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust.
Khan was arrested by the ED outside Rampur Jail on 31 October, moments after he walked out on bail in a police case—a move that attracted sharp rebuke from Khan himself as well as his party chief, Akhilesh Yadav, who called the arrest the ED’s high-handedness. The next day, the Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ghaziabad sent him to 14 days of judicial custody.
On Thursday, ED was given his custody for four days, following which he was moved to the Capital.
In its remand plea, the agency identified Khan as the “key person” in the ongoing probe into the acquisition of land, diversion of government funds, receipt of donations, construction of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, deeming his custodial interrogation as necessary.
The agency claimed that the substantial portion of the university campus spanning across 192.35 acres was acquired through illegal occupation, extortion, questionable transfers and other unlawful means. It has pegged the proceeds of crime in the case, deducting the genuine expenditure on the acquisition of land as well as the cost of construction of 59 buildings, at Rs 426.46 crore.
“Upon perusal of the record, it is prima facie reflected that statutory compliance under Section 19 of the PMLA 2002 has been duly fulfilled. The investigation reveals a massive financial scam involving the diversion of public funds and assets quantified at Rs 426.46 crore. Considering the evasive demeanour of the accused during previous statutory statements, the necessity to trace the extensive money trail, and the active involvement of multiple entities and shell structures, custodial interrogation is imperative,” the special PMLA judge observed in the order.
Moments before Khan was whisked away inside the agency’s headquarters, he said: “A Muslim built a temple of education; that was the mistake.”
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A flood of FIRs
The agency’s money laundering probe stems from 28 First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police for alleged offences, ranging from robbery and extortion to forgery and criminal breach of trust.
The agency had conducted raids at the university and its related premises, alleging that it had recovered incriminating materials and recorded statements from key people of the trust and the university, as well as managerial personnel of the firms to which funds granted under government contracts were diverted.
Following up on searches, the agency also got an FIR registered, sharing information allegedly suggesting Khan’s misuse of government funds meant for public works, diverting them to the university, and diverting funds received by contractors back to the trust as donations.
In the plea for Khan’s remand, the agency cited the statement of the MD of Ceekay Associates, who allegedly told investigators that his firm received contracts worth Rs 186 crore between financial year 2013-14 and financial year 2017-18 through Khan’s influence, and that only 60-70 percent of the amounts received against such contracts were utilised for the corresponding government works, while the remaining 30-40 percent was utilised towards construction material for the university.
“On the basis of the minimum diversion of 30 percent, the amount diverted through this contractor alone comes to approximately Rs 55.80 crore,” the ED told the court.
Similarly, the ED relied on statements by the partners of the contractor firm, A&S Enterprises, who allegedly revealed that they secured government contracts worth approximately Rs 25 crore over a period of two years and had made a donation of Rs 40 lakh to Khan’s trust in September 2015.
“The bank statements of the firm reflected two transfers of Rs 20 lakh each on 29.09.2015. The statement of Shri Deepak Gupta, former Chartered Accountant of the Trust, also corroborated the aforesaid donation. The investigation disclosed a pattern whereby contractors allegedly receiving government contracts through the influence of Shri Mohammad Azam Khan routed a portion of their gains back to the Trust,” the ED further told the court.
Additionally, the agency alleged that government funds were diverted for construction at Khan’s university, including Rs 23.41 crore spent on a hostel, a pandal, and a hospital block. The agency also alleged that Rs 6.60 crore was siphoned off from the MLA/MLC local area development funds to finance on-campus construction.
The agency also alleged manipulation of the government orders, claiming that the state government had sanctioned Rs 12.16 crore in May 2025 for the construction of the pandal, with the condition that ownership would remain with the state’s culture department and it would be used free of cost by the state. The government order was later amended in October 2016, and the ownership of the pandal was transferred to the university, and the condition regarding free official use deleted.
On the other hand, Khan’s counsel Danish Ali called the arrest part of a “prolonged harassment campaign against Azam Khan and his family.”
“If the ED wanted to probe fairly, it would have done so much earlier, and by now the case might well have been decided. The case dates back to 2019. He has been in jail for a long time, the ED could have probed him earlier as well but it chose to do so only after he walked out of jail in police case. This approach of the agency goes against principles of natural justice,” Ali told ThePrint.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)