The Lucknow unit of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted simultaneous searches at 10 premises in Rampur, Saharanpur and Delhi as part of its money-laundering investigation into the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and Mohammad Ali Jauhar University founded by jailed senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan in Rampur, senior officials said.
According to officials, the searches, carried out by the ED’s Lucknow zonal office under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), began early Wednesday morning. An ED team comprising around 15 officials reached the Jauhar University in Rampur in six vehicles at around 7 am and began examining documents and other records. More than 100 police personnel were deployed outside the campus as part of the security arrangements. Classes, however, continued at the university.
The searches covered premises linked to the Jauhar Trust and university in Jauhar Nagar, Rampur, besides those of individuals and private entities allegedly connected with the financial transactions under investigation, officials said. The premises searched included those linked to a chartered accountant in Saharanpur, a private firm in Rampur (a partner of Jauhar Associates) in Jasola-Jamia Nagar, Delhi, and another private limited firm and its director in Rampur. The premises of a private person on Jail Road (Bagh Chotay) in Rampur were also searched.
According to officials, the ED investigation centres on the alleged diversion of funds generated through government contracts and their subsequent routing towards the trust and university. Investigators are examining whether private contractors who benefited from government contracts diverted a portion of the funds through donations, payments or transactions purportedly linked to construction and other works associated with the university.
{{/usCountry}}According to officials, the ED investigation centres on the alleged diversion of funds generated through government contracts and their subsequent routing towards the trust and university. Investigators are examining whether private contractors who benefited from government contracts diverted a portion of the funds through donations, payments or transactions purportedly linked to construction and other works associated with the university.
{{/usCountry}}The agency is now attempting to establish the complete money trail and identify the individuals and companies through which the alleged funds were routed to the trust or university, officials said.
Investigators are scrutinising bank accounts, books of accounts, property documents, transaction records and digital material recovered during the searches to determine the source and end-use of the funds. The role of contractors, their associates and the chartered accountant is also being examined, officials said. The ED is particularly looking into the financial links between the contractors and the trust and whether payments or donations shown in the records represented genuine commercial or charitable transactions or were allegedly used to layer or divert proceeds of crime, they added.
The investigation is aimed at tracing the alleged proceeds of crime and establishing whether such funds were ultimately used to create, acquire or finance assets associated with the university and the trust, officials said, adding further details are likely to emerge after the ED completes its scrutiny of documents and digital evidence seized or examined during the searches. The investigation is continuing.