The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached land and buildings of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur, estimating their current market value at approximately ₹1,170 crore, in a money laundering investigation against former Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister Mohammad Azam Khan, the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and others.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the ED’s Lucknow zonal office said its investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) had identified assets worth ₹426.46 crore as alleged proceeds of crime. The agency claimed that government funds, construction materials and donations from contractors executing public works had been diverted to build the university campus.
Located in Jauhar Nagar village, the university is owned by the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, founded and controlled by Azam Khan, who is also its honorary chancellor.
The ED arrived at the attachment value after comparing the assessed cost of the campus with expenditure it considered supported by legitimate sources. The 59 buildings were valued at ₹494.46 crore, while 114 land sale deeds accounted for another ₹4.63 crore, taking the total assessed cost to ₹499.09 crore.
Against this, the trust had declared capital expenditure of ₹78.32 crore in its income tax returns. The agency said donations worth ₹12.29 crore included in this amount were found to be non-genuine, leaving ₹66.03 crore as genuine expenditure on construction and land acquisition.
{{/usCountry}}Against this, the trust had declared capital expenditure of ₹78.32 crore in its income tax returns. The agency said donations worth ₹12.29 crore included in this amount were found to be non-genuine, leaving ₹66.03 crore as genuine expenditure on construction and land acquisition.
{{/usCountry}}After accounting for other expenditure explained through legitimate sources, the ED said only ₹72.63 crore of the total cost could be accounted for, leaving ₹426.46 crore unexplained. The construction cost assessment was based on a district valuation officer’s report dated November 10, 2023.
The investigation found that contractors executing government projects allegedly diverted money and construction material to the university. The managing director of a company that received Public Works Department (PWD) contracts worth approximately ₹186 crore reportedly told investigators that 30% to 40% of the contract value had been used to purchase construction material for the campus.
According to the ED, partners of another firm told investigators that they operated under Azam Khan’s influence. The firm donated ₹40 lakh to the trust.
The agency also identified public works worth ₹6.60 crore that were carried out on the university’s private campus using MLA/MLC local area development funds. These works were executed by the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, of which Azam Khan was chairman at the time, the statement said.
The state government had separately sanctioned ₹23.41 crore for a pandal, an OBC boys’ hostel and a hospital block on the campus. The ED highlighted the case of a pandal for which ₹12.16 crore was sanctioned in 2015. The original government order required the culture department to retain ownership of the structure and stipulated that it be made available free of cost for government use.
However, a subsequent order in 2016 transferred ownership to the university and removed the condition requiring government access, effectively converting a publicly funded asset into university property, the agency claimed. Azam Khan was the urban development minister when the orders were issued, and the Jal Nigam functioned under his department, the statement said.
The ED initiated its money laundering investigation on the basis of 26 FIRs registered at Azeem Nagar police station in Rampur under Section 384 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and other provisions. The complaints alleged that agricultural land belonging to farmers had been forcibly taken over for the university.
The agency also cited a separate inquiry by the Rampur district administration, which reportedly found that 45 plots of enemy property measuring approximately 34 acres in Singhan Kheda village had been illegally occupied for the campus despite the cancellation of the trust’s lease. The Custodian of Enemy Property under the Union home ministry has since recovered possession of the land through the district administration, the ED said.
The agency further examined 28 other FIRs registered by Rampur police against Azam Khan and others. These cases include allegations that houses belonging to several families in Rampur city were demolished in 2016, their occupants assaulted and threatened, and cash, jewellery and cattle taken away. The debris from the demolished houses was allegedly transported to the university. The cases also allege that cleaning machinery purchased for the Rampur Nagar Palika was diverted to the campus.
Separately, the ED said the income tax department had revoked the trust’s registration under the Income Tax Act. The agency conducted searches at the university and related premises on August 19, 2026, seizing electronic devices and records it described as incriminating. Further investigation is in progress, the statement added.