Al-Falah University Founder Javed Ahmed Siddiqui Arrested in Money Laundering Investigation

Javed Ahmed Siddiqui, founder and managing trustee of Al-Falah University in Faridabad, Haryana, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday, November 18, in connection with a money laundering investigation.

A search operation was conducted on Siddiqui and the university across 19 locations on November 18 prior to his arrest. The ED said in a statement issued on November 19 at 7:21 pm and released on X social media that it is part of an ongoing investigation into financial irregularities, including the use of shell companies and money laundering.

The gaze of investigative agencies fell on Al Falah soon after an explosion in Delhi's Red Fort area on the evening of November 10, in which at least 12 were killed and 28 injured. Umar Un Nabi, the man who allegedly drove the car that carried explosive material and exploded, was an associate professor at the university’s medical college.

Other doctors and individuals associated with Nabi and the university have been questioned, raided or arrested in Faridabad in the Delhi-NCR region and in Kashmir (where Nabi is from) by different investigative agencies since the explosion.

The ED claims in its latest statement to have uncovered evidence suggesting fund diversion, with 'large amounts of proceeds of crime' allegedly generated and routed to family-owned businesses at Al Falah. It has also claimed that other laws were found to have been violated at the university and trust, without giving further detail.

The statement does not mention the terrorist attack in the Red Fort area or the probe related to it. The ED, as a wing of the Union finance ministry, has powers to investigate financial transactions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, or PMLA. However, this law is geared to track 'proceeds of crime', which refers to benefits gained through illegal acts – primarily related to terrorism and drug trade financing. The scope of this law has expanded over time to cover several other criminal acts as well.

The ED has claimed that the money generated by the university between 2016 and 2025 amounts to proceeds of crime, since the institution had been making fraudulent claims to students about its recognition, and because of operating "shell companies" and using other methods of concealing its sources of money, the Times of India reported on Wednesday.

The university allegedly falsely claimed it had recognition from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council and misrepresented its eligibility under the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act.

The UGC, according to the ED statement, has clarified that the university is recognised only under Section 2(f) of the Act – as a state private university – and has never been eligible to receive Union government grants. This was also reported by The Hindu newspaper on Wednesday.

Siddiqui was running the Al-Falah Charitable Trust since 1995, and the ED alleges that the funds it raised through student fees and other payments were diverted for personal and private use. During the searches, it seized Rs 48 lakh in digital devices and other effects.

Two FIRs were filed by the Delhi Police Crime Branch accusing the university of fraudulent practices, including falsifying its accreditation status and making misleading claims to students. This led the ED to step in to investigate.

The ED has reportedly argued that Siddiqui’s arrest is crucial for its investigation into the university. His family members and associates who hold positions in the university are also being probed.

Soon after he was taken into custody, a Delhi court granted the ED 13-day custody of Siddiqui. The agency told additional sessions judge Sheetal Chaudhary Pradhan, at a hearing held after midnight on the intervening night of November 18 and 19 that Siddiqui’s influence over the trust and university’s operations would allow him to manipulate financial flows and potentially place assets beyond the reach of investigations.

On November 18, a short video, purportedly of Nabi, surfaced on social media. In the roughly minute-long clip, he looks into a camera while saying suicide bombing is "misunderstood", then looks away, blinking repeatedly, as he is heard saying it is a "martyrdom operation", before stumbling on his words and ending the recording. It is still unclear if the clip is Nabi's, or when it was recorded, but it has been widely circulated.

Union home minister Amit Shah was in Faridabad on Monday, where he addressed a gathering (unrelated to the university or probe), saying that the culprits in the Delhi bomb blast case would get the "strictest possible punishment", The Hindu has reported. He said the culprits would be found even "from the depths of pataal", if necessary, the Times of India reported. He said the action against the perpetrators would send a message to the world against attacks on India.

Amir Rashid Ali, a resident of Pampore, Kashmir and a medical doctor, was arrested on Monday by the National Investigation Agency, the national anti-terrorism body. He is alleged to have been involved in the purchase of the car Nabi drove, and was arrested as an "associate of the terrorist".

A day later, the agency arrested Jasir Bilal Wani, another Kashmiri, also in connection with the Red Fort blast case. Wani is currently in NIA custody. It also reported that the NIA has recovered 2,900 kilograms of "explosives, including ammonium nitrate", during its raids in Faridabad.

The raids began after 360 kg of explosives was said to have been recovered from a doctor on November 10, by a joint team of Delhi Police and Jammu and Kashmir Police. Dr Muzammil Shakeel was on the radar of police in Kashmir for allegedly having posted proscribed terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad's posters in Srinagar. Shakeel was also a faculty member at Al Falah University. Multiple rifles, pistols, timing devices, chemicals and other weapons and suspected explosive materials were found in his room, according to the report.

Agencies have said that these investigations are still underway.

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