Azam Khan Sent To 14-Day Judicial Custody In Money Laundering Case Day After Release From Jail

New Delhi: Senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan was sent to 14 days of judicial custody by a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ghaziabad on Sunday, November 1, a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him shortly after his release from Rampur District Jail.

Following the court's remand order, Khan was taken to Dasna District Jail in Ghaziabad, where he will remain in judicial custody until November 13. He had walked out of Rampur jail on Saturday evening after spending nearly 11 months behind bars in connection with a dual PAN card case.

The ED arrested Khan in a separate money laundering investigation linked to Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur. The agency took him into custody shortly after he and his son, Abdullah Azam, were released from prison following relief from the Allahabad High Court.

According to reports, ED officials brought Khan to its headquarters in Delhi for questioning before producing him before the special PMLA court in Ghaziabad on Sunday. The agency had sought his custody for further questioning in connection with alleged financial irregularities involving the university and the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust.

The move comes almost two-and-a-half months after the federal agency conducted searches at ten premises linked to Azam Khan in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi in connection with the case under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The search operation was launched on August 19, covering premises in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur and Saharanpur, as well as Delhi.

The premises then searched included Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, linked to Azam Khan. Founded by Azam Khan in 2006, Mohammad Ali Jauhar University is a private university in Rampur.

ED said its investigation has so far revealed: "financial transactions between certain contractors and the trust and contractors allegedly benefiting from Government contracts diverted funds towards the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, including substantial donations and construction works."

Azam Khan has been sentenced to two years in prison in a case related to his alleged “cleaning shoes” objectionable remark against government officials, including the then Collector-cum-District Magistrate, during the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign.

A 10-time MLA from Rampur Sadar and former Cabinet minister, Azam Khan has been one of the Samajwadi Party’s most prominent Muslim faces and a long-standing influential figure. He has been lodged in Rampur district jail since November last year after his conviction in a forgery case.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached the land and building of Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan's Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, with a book value of Rs 426 crore and an estimated current market value of Rs 1,170 crore, the agency said on Wednesday.

The apprehension comes days after the agency, on October 28, attached the land and building of Azam Khan's Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, with a book value of Rs 426 crore and an estimated current market value of Rs 1,170 crore. 

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