The Enforcement Directorate arrested Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan on October 31, 2026, shortly after his release on bail from Rampur jail. The arrest relates to a money laundering investigation involving Mohammad Ali Jauhar University and the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust. The ED recently attached university assets with an estimated market value of ₹1,170 crore, identifying ₹426.46 crore as alleged proceeds of crime. Khan was expected to be produced before a special PMLA court in Ghaziabad on November 1.
Azam Khan ED Detention Follows Release From Rampur Jail in Money Laundering Case
Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate moments after being released on bail from Rampur jail in a case linked to an alleged money laundering probe in connection with Jauhar University.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had caught the SP leader outside Rampur jail on Saturday, October 31, 2026, shortly after he was released on bail and taken into ED detention.
Khan will be formally arrested after completing requisite procedures and will be produced before a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ghaziabad, Hindustan Times (HT) reported, citing officials of the agency’s Lucknow Zonal Office.
“The agency has arrested Khan, and he will be produced before the special court after completing formalities of the arrest,” said an official of the Lucknow Zonal Office of the agency.
ED Investigation Into Azam Khan and Jauhar University
The ED is probing an alleged money laundering case involving former Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister Azam Khan, the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and others linked to the case.
The investigation concerns Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur, which is owned by the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, founded and administered by Khan, who is also its honorary chancellor.
The agency attached land and buildings owned by the university, which it valued at ₹1,170 crore in the current market, on Wednesday. The Institute is situated at Jauhar Nagar village, Rampur.
The investigators have identified assets worth ₹426.46 crore as alleged proceeds of crime under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the statement from the ED’s Lucknow Zonal Office said.
The agency said government funds, construction materials and donations from contractors involved in public works have been diverted to build the university campus.
The valuation of the attachment was based on a comparison of the assessed cost of the campus with the expenditure which the agency deemed to be supported by legitimate sources.
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Azam Khan Alleges Action Is Linked to His Religion
Khan contested the detention, alleging it was a reprisal for his involvement in the founding of an educational institution and for being Muslim.
He was quoted as saying that the agency was acting against him because he was building a university and establishing schools for children, and that he objected to the proceedings.
For the operation, the ED officials of the Lucknow zone were accompanied by a large number of central paramilitary forces and police personnel. Supporters of Khan also chanted slogans in his support.
Allahabad High Court Had Granted Bail to Azam Khan
The arrest follows another significant legal development in the case against Khan and his son Abdullah Azam Khan. The Allahabad High Court on Thursday stayed their sentences in the alleged dual PAN card case.
The court order granted bail to both of them, allowing Khan to walk out of Rampur jail before the ED arrested him in the other money laundering probe.
The developments have put the Samajwadi Party leader under fresh legal scrutiny as the ED continues to probe the financial transactions associated with Jauhar University and the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust.
Sprouts News also reported that the next legal steps in the investigation are expected to be clarified in further proceedings before the Ghaziabad PMLA court. The accusations are subject to judicial investigation.
