The Enforcement Directorate alleges that ₹426.46 crore spent on Mohammad Ali Jauhar University came from unexplained sources, including questionable donations and the diversion of government funds and construction materials.
Senior Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Mohammad Azam Khan was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on October 31, 2026, minutes after being released from Rampur district jail on bail in a separate case.
The 78-year-old leader had secured bail from the Allahabad High Court in the dual PAN card case, in which his son Abdullah Azam was also granted relief. However, the court did not suspend their convictions. As Khan walked out of jail, an ED team, accompanied by CRPF personnel and state police, took him into custody in connection with a money-laundering investigation involving the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur.
The agency is expected to produce Khan before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ghaziabad and seek custodial remand for further questioning.
The arrest came days after the ED provisionally attached university properties valued at approximately ₹1,170 crore at current market rates. The agency has identified ₹426.46 crore as alleged proceeds of crime linked to the construction and development of the university.
ED Questions Sources of University Funding
The ED's investigation centres on how the university, established under the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, financed its buildings and infrastructure. The trust was founded and is controlled by Azam Khan, who also serves as the university's honorary chancellor.
In its attachment order, the agency alleged that a substantial portion of the money spent on the campus could not be explained through the trust's declared income and legitimate financial sources.
One of the issues under investigation is the genuineness of donations received by the trust. The ED has reportedly questioned contributions totalling around ₹12.29 crore, which it considers to have originated from non-genuine sources.
The investigation also examined donations made through charitable organisations associated with Om Prakash Agarwal, general secretary of the Meerut-based City Educational and Social Welfare Society and KSD Charitable Trust.
Agarwal reportedly told investigators that he contributed ₹5.23 crore and ₹1 crore through these organisations towards university construction. During questioning inside Rampur jail on October 13, Khan acknowledged that Agarwal might have made the contributions on the advice of former Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. He described the donations as being made for a noble cause.
The ED, however, questioned the financial credibility of these contributions and included them in its assessment of non-genuine donations.
Government Contracts and Public Funds Under Scanner
The agency has also alleged that government resources were diverted towards developing the university campus when Khan held influential positions in the Uttar Pradesh government, including the Urban Development portfolio during the Akhilesh Yadav administration.
According to the investigation, contractors who received government and Public Works Department (PWD) contracts allegedly supplied construction materials for the university using resources meant for public projects.
The managing director of one company, which reportedly secured contracts worth around ₹186 crore, allegedly told investigators that 30–40% of the contract value went towards materials used on the university campus.
Partners of another contracting firm reportedly said that they operated under Khan's influence and that their company donated ₹40 lakh to the trust.
The ED has further alleged that government works were carried out on the private campus. Its findings also refer to approximately ₹6.60 crore from MLA and MLC local area development funds allegedly used for university-related projects.
The Uttar Pradesh government had also sanctioned ₹23.41 crore for a pandal, an OBC boys' hostel and a hospital block on the campus.
These allegations form part of the agency's wider investigation into the alleged conversion of public resources into assets belonging to a privately controlled trust.
How the ED Calculated ₹426.46 Crore
The valuation of the university campus provides the financial basis for the ED's attachment order.
An independent assessment estimated the construction cost of 59 buildings at ₹494.46 crore. The land, acquired through 114 sale deeds, was valued at another ₹4.63 crore, taking the estimated campus cost to approximately ₹499.09 crore.
However, the trust's Income Tax returns for the financial years 2013–14 to 2024–25 reportedly showed capital expenditure of only ₹78.32 crore.
After excluding donations considered non-genuine, the agency calculated that around ₹72.63 crore could be explained through legitimate sources. It treated the remaining ₹426.46 crore as alleged proceeds of crime.
The properties corresponding to this amount were provisionally attached, although their estimated current market value is approximately ₹1,170 crore.
Land Cases Add to Khan's Legal Troubles
The ED's investigation also draws on several FIRs concerning alleged illegal land acquisition for the university. These include complaints by farmers in Rampur who accused Khan and his associates of forcibly taking over agricultural land.
The agency has also referred to alleged illegal occupation of enemy property, which was subsequently reclaimed by the Custodian of Enemy Property through the district administration.
After sharing its findings with Uttar Pradesh Police under Section 66(2) of the PMLA, the ED's investigation led to a fresh FIR against Khan, the trust and others under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Reacting to his latest arrest, Khan reportedly described the action as punishment for being Muslim, saying that building a university and school for students had become his alleged crime. The Samajwadi Party has previously termed investigations against him politically motivated, while the BJP has pointed to the criminal cases and convictions involving the former minister.
University Faces Questions Over Its Future
The arrest and attachment order have brought the financial affairs of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University back into the spotlight. For Rampur, the institution was projected as an important educational initiative, but its land acquisition and funding have repeatedly attracted legal scrutiny.
The immediate battle will unfold in the special PMLA court, where the ED is expected to seek Khan's custody. The university trust can also challenge the property attachment through the legal process.
The central question remains whether the university's construction was financed through legitimate donations and declared resources or through the alleged diversion of public money and government assets.
The ED will have to establish its allegations through evidence, while Khan and the other accused will have the opportunity to contest them in court. The final determination of guilt rests with the judiciary.
Senior Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Mohammad Azam Khan was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on October 31, 2026, minutes after being released from Rampur district jail on bail in a separate case.
The 78-year-old leader had secured bail from the Allahabad High Court in the dual PAN card case, in which his son Abdullah Azam was also granted relief. However, the court did not suspend their convictions. As Khan walked out of jail, an ED team, accompanied by CRPF personnel and state police, took him into custody in connection with a money-laundering investigation involving the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur.
The agency is expected to produce Khan before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ghaziabad and seek custodial remand for further questioning.
The arrest came days after the ED provisionally attached university properties valued at approximately ₹1,170 crore at current market rates. The agency has identified ₹426.46 crore as alleged proceeds of crime linked to the construction and development of the university.
ED Questions Sources of University Funding
The ED's investigation centres on how the university, established under the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, financed its buildings and infrastructure. The trust was founded and is controlled by Azam Khan, who also serves as the university's honorary chancellor.
In its attachment order, the agency alleged that a substantial portion of the money spent on the campus could not be explained through the trust's declared income and legitimate financial sources.
One of the issues under investigation is the genuineness of donations received by the trust. The ED has reportedly questioned contributions totalling around ₹12.29 crore, which it considers to have originated from non-genuine sources.
The investigation also examined donations made through charitable organisations associated with Om Prakash Agarwal, general secretary of the Meerut-based City Educational and Social Welfare Society and KSD Charitable Trust.
Agarwal reportedly told investigators that he contributed ₹5.23 crore and ₹1 crore through these organisations towards university construction. During questioning inside Rampur jail on October 13, Khan acknowledged that Agarwal might have made the contributions on the advice of former Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. He described the donations as being made for a noble cause.
The ED, however, questioned the financial credibility of these contributions and included them in its assessment of non-genuine donations.
Government Contracts and Public Funds Under Scanner
The agency has also alleged that government resources were diverted towards developing the university campus when Khan held influential positions in the Uttar Pradesh government, including the Urban Development portfolio during the Akhilesh Yadav administration.
According to the investigation, contractors who received government and Public Works Department (PWD) contracts allegedly supplied construction materials for the university using resources meant for public projects.
The managing director of one company, which reportedly secured contracts worth around ₹186 crore, allegedly told investigators that 30–40% of the contract value went towards materials used on the university campus.
Partners of another contracting firm reportedly said that they operated under Khan's influence and that their company donated ₹40 lakh to the trust.
The ED has further alleged that government works were carried out on the private campus. Its findings also refer to approximately ₹6.60 crore from MLA and MLC local area development funds allegedly used for university-related projects.
The Uttar Pradesh government had also sanctioned ₹23.41 crore for a pandal, an OBC boys' hostel and a hospital block on the campus.
These allegations form part of the agency's wider investigation into the alleged conversion of public resources into assets belonging to a privately controlled trust.
How the ED Calculated ₹426.46 Crore
The valuation of the university campus provides the financial basis for the ED's attachment order.
An independent assessment estimated the construction cost of 59 buildings at ₹494.46 crore. The land, acquired through 114 sale deeds, was valued at another ₹4.63 crore, taking the estimated campus cost to approximately ₹499.09 crore.
However, the trust's Income Tax returns for the financial years 2013–14 to 2024–25 reportedly showed capital expenditure of only ₹78.32 crore.
After excluding donations considered non-genuine, the agency calculated that around ₹72.63 crore could be explained through legitimate sources. It treated the remaining ₹426.46 crore as alleged proceeds of crime.
The properties corresponding to this amount were provisionally attached, although their estimated current market value is approximately ₹1,170 crore.
Land Cases Add to Khan's Legal Troubles
The ED's investigation also draws on several FIRs concerning alleged illegal land acquisition for the university. These include complaints by farmers in Rampur who accused Khan and his associates of forcibly taking over agricultural land.
The agency has also referred to alleged illegal occupation of enemy property, which was subsequently reclaimed by the Custodian of Enemy Property through the district administration.
After sharing its findings with Uttar Pradesh Police under Section 66(2) of the PMLA, the ED's investigation led to a fresh FIR against Khan, the trust and others under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Reacting to his latest arrest, Khan reportedly described the action as punishment for being Muslim, saying that building a university and school for students had become his alleged crime. The Samajwadi Party has previously termed investigations against him politically motivated, while the BJP has pointed to the criminal cases and convictions involving the former minister.
University Faces Questions Over Its Future
The arrest and attachment order have brought the financial affairs of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University back into the spotlight. For Rampur, the institution was projected as an important educational initiative, but its land acquisition and funding have repeatedly attracted legal scrutiny.
The immediate battle will unfold in the special PMLA court, where the ED is expected to seek Khan's custody. The university trust can also challenge the property attachment through the legal process.
The central question remains whether the university's construction was financed through legitimate donations and declared resources or through the alleged diversion of public money and government assets.
The ED will have to establish its allegations through evidence, while Khan and the other accused will have the opportunity to contest them in court. The final determination of guilt rests with the judiciary.
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