ED Brings SP Leader Azam Khan to Ghaziabad for Production Before PMLA Court

Ghaziabad: Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on Sunday brought Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan to Ghaziabad for production before the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court. Earlier on October 31, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday apprehended Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan in connection with its ongoing money-laundering investigation relating to the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, officials said.

Azam Khan was apprehended soon after he was released from Rampur Jail. He will be produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad tomorrow. Officials said that a team from the ED's Lucknow zonal office reached Rampur district jail before his release and apprehended him soon after he came out of the jail premises.

On October 13, the agency had also questioned Azam Khan in Rampur Jail in the same case. He was questioned in the barrack where the leader was lodged. The federal agency then recorded Azam Khan's statement as part of its probe into alleged diversion of government contract funds through private contractors and their subsequent utilisation, including for the creation of assets of Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and Mohammad Ali Jauhar University.

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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