The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan in a money laundering case linked to Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Uttar Pradesh. The ED said it attached land and buildings belonging to the university worth Rs 426.46 crore. Azam Khan is set to be produced before the Special Court (PMLA), Ghaziabad, for custody proceedings. The investigation centers on the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, which the ED says was founded and is controlled by Azam Khan, who also serves as the institution’s honorary chancellor. According to the agency, the probe stems from 26 FIRs registered at Azeem Nagar police station in Rampur. The FIRs alleged that agricultural land belonging to farmers was forcibly acquired for the university. The ED also alleged that nearly 34 acres of enemy property at Singhankhera village were occupied for the university despite the cancellation of the land lease, and that the land was later recovered by the Custodian of Enemy Property through the district administration. The agency claimed it found funds meant for public works diverted to the university, government-funded projects executed on the private campus, and money from contractors routed back to the trust as donations. It further said the proceeds were used for acquisition, construction and development of the university and associated assets. The ED said a valuation by the District Valuation Officer put the campus cost at Rs 499.09 crore, including 59 buildings and land acquired through 114 sale deeds. It said the trust accounted for only Rs 78.32 crore as capital expenditure in its income tax filings, leaving Rs 426.46 crore as allegedly proceeds of crime. The ED also alleged works worth Rs 6.60 crore were carried out using MLA and MLC local area development funds, and that government sanctions of Rs 23.41 crore were granted for infrastructure projects on the private campus, with later modifications resulting in public assets being transferred to the university. Searches at the university and related premises on August 19, 2026, led to the seizure of electronic devices and documents, the ED said. The agency also registered additional FIRs, including 28 cases involving allegations of demolition of houses in 2016 and diversion of material and equipment tied to public projects for use at the campus.