The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested the founder and chairman of the Al Falah Group, Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, on Tuesday evening (18th November) on charges of money laundering. Siddiqui was arrested hours after multiple teams of the ED conducted searches at 25 locations in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) associated with the Al Falah group, which runs the Al Falah University.
Siddiqui was sent to 13-day judicial custody by an order passed by Additional Sessions Judge Sheetal Chaudhary Pradhan at her camp office at midnight. The remand order reportedly notes that there exist reasonable grounds to believe he committed the offence of money laundering linked to large-scale fraud, forged accreditation claims, and diversion of funds from the Al-Falah University ecosystem. The ED had sought Siddiqui’s remand, citing substantial evidence of deception, misrepresentation, and movement of suspected proceeds of crime. “The arrest took place today following a detailed investigation and analysis of evidence gathered during the search action,” an ED spokesperson said.
The remand order passed by Additional Sessions Judge Sheetal Chaudhary Pradhan at her camp office at midnight records that Siddiqui was arrested late on November 18 following compliance with Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and that ED sought custodial…
— ANI (@ANI) November 19, 2025
“Siddiqui is effectively controlling the trust and its activities, which has been brought out by multiple pieces of evidence. Exhaustive evidence, including recovery of cash from trustees’ diversion of funds to family concern, layering of funds, etc., clearly establishes the pattern of generation and layering of proceeds of crime… He has been produced before the court for seeking ED remand,” the spokesperson said.
Doctors from Al Falah University found associated with a JeM-linked terror module
Al Falah University in Faridabad, Haryana, has come under the scanner after several doctors working at the university were found connected to a Jaish-e-Mohammad-linked terror module that caused the Red Fort blast. The ED investigation against the Al Falah group was initiated after the Delhi Police filed two FIRs against the Al Falah University, alleging that the university made misleading claims about its NAAC accreditation. “They have made allegations that Al Falah University, Faridabad, has made fraudulent and misleading claims of NAAC accreditation with an intention to deceive students, parents, and stakeholders for wrongful gain,” the ED spokesperson stated. “It has also been mentioned in FIR that Al Falah University has falsely claimed UGC recognition under Section 12(B) of the UGC Act, 1956 with oblique motive to cheat the aspirants, students, parents, guardians, stakeholders and general public,” the spokesperson further said.
Shady financial records of the Al Falah Group
The NAAC accreditation is issued by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), which is an autonomous body under the University Grants Commission (UGC). It assesses and accredits higher educational institutions such as colleges and universities to understand their ‘quality status’. According to the ED spokesperson, the UGC has clarified that Al Falah University is included under Section 2(f) of the UGC Act, 1956, as a State Private University, and that the university never applied for inclusion under Section 12(B) of the Act, and therefore is not eligible for grants under that provision.
The spokesperson further revealed that the Al Falah Charitable Trust, formed under a public charitable trust deed dated September 8, 1995, had experienced a rapid rise to become a large educational body since the 1990s, which is not explained by the group’s financial records. Jawad Siddiqui was one of the trustees at the time of the constitution of the trust, designated as the Managing Trustee. “All the educational institutions (university and colleges) are ultimately owned and financially consolidated under this trust, which is effectively controlled by Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui. The entire Al Falah group has seen a meteoric rise since the 1990s, metamorphosing into a large educational body. However, the rise is not backed by adequate financials,” the ED spokesperson said.
The court notes that ED presented extensive financial analysis showing that between FY 2018–19 and 2024–25, the Al-Falah institutions generated approximately Rs 415.10 crore in education-related receipts. These funds, ED argues, constitute proceeds of crime because they were…
— ANI (@ANI) November 19, 2025
Siddiqui’s arrest comes after his brother Hamood Siddiqui was arrested by the Mhow police from Hyderabad on Sunday (16th November). Hamood had been absconding for nearly 25 years. He is accused of running a chit fund and investment scheme in Mhow, through which he promised to double investors’ money and siphoned off several crores. His victims reportedly included not just businessmen but also salaried middle-class families.