India’s Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached land and buildings at Jauhar University in Uttar Pradesh, estimating their current market value at about Rs 1,170 crore. The agency announced the action on October 28, 2026, as part of a money-laundering investigation involving Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and the trust that holds the campus.

Key Takeaways

  • The agency put the attached property’s book value at about Rs 426 crore.
  • Investigators allege that public funds and contractors’ resources were diverted to the university; the attachment is provisional.

What the Jauhar University attachment covers

The Enforcement Directorate’s Lucknow office said it attached land and buildings at the Rampur campus under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The campus is held by the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, which was founded and is controlled by Khan, the university’s honorary chancellor.

The agency estimated that Rs 426.46 crore of the campus cost represented proceeds of crime and said the attached property had a current market value of approximately Rs 1,170 crore. These are different measures: the former is the amount the agency alleges was generated illegitimately, while the latter is its estimate of the property’s current value.

The Enforcement Directorate’s money-laundering mandate includes investigating suspected proceeds of crime and provisionally attaching property. A provisional attachment is not the same as a completed confiscation.

Allegations behind the investigation

The agency said it began its investigation on the basis of 26 police reports alleging that farmers’ agricultural land had been forcibly taken for the university. It also alleged that public-works funds and construction materials linked to government contracts were diverted to the campus, and that contractors’ funds were routed to the trust as donations.

The agency said it shared information with Uttar Pradesh police, leading to a further police report filed on October 13, 2026, against Khan, the trust and others. It also said it had taken up 28 other police reports for investigation, most of which had resulted in chargesheets.

The agency’s account also cited an independent valuation of Rs 494.46 crore for construction of 59 campus buildings and Rs 4.63 crore for land acquired through 114 sale deeds. It said searches at the university and related premises on August 19 resulted in the seizure of electronic devices and records.

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