The Enforcement Directorate has expanded its investigation into suspected financial misconduct linked to the Al Falah Group and Trust and has uncovered indications that the group’s detained chairman may have obtained land parcels in Delhi through falsified paperwork. The scrutiny of the organisation intensified after a tragic explosion near the Red Fort on November 10 in which a doctor associated with the medical college of Al Falah University died when a vehicle loaded with chemical explosives detonated, killing fifteen people and injuring many others.
According to official sources, the agency is examining at least five instances, where documents related to General Power of Attorney for acquiring land, appear to have been fabricated on instructions from a Trust connected to Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui who heads the Al Falah Group and is currently in custody.
read also: ED Arrests Al Falah Group Chairman in Money Laundering Probe
Siddiqui was arrested on November 18 following searches at locations linked to the group in a money laundering case, involving allegations that students were deceived into enrolling in courses lacking proper accreditation.
Investigators believe that some of the GPAs may have been issued in the names of individuals who were no longer alive and the inquiry continues to track the authenticity of these records.
The Enforcement Directorate has also begun tracing and assessing the value of movable and immovable assets held by the group across India in addition to funds believed to have been transferred to foreign locations. These assets may be seized under the anti money laundering framework as the case progresses.
The agency has alleged that Siddiqui unlawfully collected more than four hundred fifteen crore rupees from students studying across institutions managed by his Trust while also expressing concern that he could attempt to leave the country given that some close relatives reside in Gulf nations. In its remand application the Enforcement Directorate stated that Siddiqui exercised significant influence over employees responsible for admission data financial ledgers accounts and IT systems across Al Falah University and other institutions under the Trust which placed him in a position to alter or eliminate important records.
Investigators have asserted that Siddiqui maintains overarching control over the entire Al Falah educational network and that only a segment of the suspected proceeds of crime totalling four hundred fifteen crore rupees has been traced to date. The agency also noted that the Al Falah group has grown rapidly since the late nineteen nineties developing into a sizeable educational establishment.
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