Major action against Al-Falah chairman: ED freezes assets worth Rs 39 crore

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth over Rs 39 crore linked to Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui, the chairman of Al-Falah Group, as part of its ongoing money laundering investigation.

Al-Falah University, based in Haryana's Faridabad, has been under investigation in connection with a 'white-collar' terror module linked to the deadly November 2025 Red Fort area blast that claimed 15 lives.

The ED said in a statement that it had attached several key assets belonging to Siddiqui and his charitable trust, Al-Falah Charitable Trust. The attached properties include a residential house in Delhi's Jamia Nagar (Okhla), agricultural land in Faridabad, as well as demat holdings, bank balances, and fixed deposits associated with both Siddiqui and the charitable trust. The total value of these properties stands at Rs 39.45 crore.

Siddiqui, 61, is currently in judicial custody at Tihar jail. He was first arrested in November 2025 by the ED in a money laundering case linked to allegations of cheating students by misrepresenting the accreditation and recognition of his educational institutions. He was arrested again last month in connection with a second money laundering case regarding the fraudulent acquisition of a Rs 45 crore land plot in Delhi.

The ED is probing Siddiqui's involvement in the first money laundering case. In January, the agency filed a chargesheet against him and the Al-Falah Charitable Trust, revealing that between the financial years 2016-17 and 2024-25, the trust and the university generated proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 493.24 crore.

The funds were allegedly diverted to entities controlled by Siddiqui and his family, including Karkun Construction and Developers, Amla Enterprises LLP, and Diyala Construction and Developers. The ED claims some of these funds were also siphoned off to foreign destinations.

In addition to the Rs 39 crore in assets attached on Tuesday, the ED had previously seized the Al-Falah University campus in Faridabad, valued at Rs 144.09 crore, in connection with the same probe. The ED's actions mark a significant step in its efforts to unravel the financial networks linked to Siddiqui and his group.

(With inputs from PTI)