The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday arrested Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui, the chairperson of the Al-Falah group, in a money-laundering case linked to alleged fraudulent accreditation claims and financial irregularities at the group’s educational institutions, the Hindustan Times reported.

The Al-Falah Medical College in Faridabad, Haryana has been under scrutiny in the investigation linked to the November 10 Delhi blast.

The blast near the Red Fort metro station had left 13 persons dead. The Union government has described it as a “terrorist incident”.

The Delhi Police has alleged that the key suspects, including faculty member Umar Un Nabi, who was allegedly driving the car that exploded, used a room on campus to plan logistics for transporting ammonium nitrate for multiple blasts in the National Capital Region. The vehicle used in the blast had been parked inside the campus for nearly 20 days, the police said.

Siddiqui, who has been the chancellor of the Al-Falah University in Faridabad since 2014, was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after investigators examined material seized during searches conducted on Tuesday.

The Enforcement Directorate’s case is based on two first information reports filed by the Delhi Police Crime Branch, which alleged that the Al-Falah University had falsely claimed accreditation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council and misrepresented its eligibility under the University Grants Commission Act.

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council is an autonomous body under the University Grants Commission that assesses and accredits higher educational institutions such as colleges and universities to determine their “quality status”.

The University Grants Commission has claimed that the university is recognised only as a state private university and has never been eligible for central grants, The Indian Express reported.

During searches at 19 locations in the National Capital Region, including the university and homes of its senior staff, the Enforcement Directorate said it found evidence of large-scale fund diversion.

Investigators alleged that the proceeds of crime running into several crores were routed to entities owned by Siddiqui’s family, with construction and catering contracts awarded to firms linked to his wife and children, the Hindustan Times reported.

The agency seized Rs 48 lakh in cash, digital devices and documents, and identified several shell companies suspected to be part of the alleged money laundering network.

An unidentified official of the central law enforcement agency said the evidence of fund layering, diversion and recovery of cash established Siddiqui’s role, the Hindustan Times reported.

He was produced before a Delhi court, which remanded him to 13-day ED custody, ANI reported.

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