LUCKNOW: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted raids at four locations in Sant Kabir Nagar in connection with a money laundering case against Maulana Shamsul Huda Khan, a government-recognised madrassa teacher from Azamgarh. He is accused of fraudulently drawing state salary and retirement benefits while living abroad, and allegedly maintaining links with Pakistan-based religious networks.The ED booked Huda under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following multiple FIRs, an Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) investigation, and a detailed police report flagging suspected foreign funding, misuse of NGO structures, and ideological influence operations on 25 December 2025.According to ED sources, Huda allegedly acquired properties worth around ₹33 crore in Sant Kabir Nagar within a short span. Investigators have also identified cash deposits of approximately ₹5 crore in bank accounts linked to suspicious entities. His bank accounts and possible foreign investments are currently under scrutiny.Official records show Huda continued to serve as a madrassa assistant teacher, regularly availing medical leave and updating service documents, before securing voluntary retirement (VRS) with full benefits in 2017. However, investigators claim he had left India in 2007, settled in the United Kingdom, and obtained British citizenship by 2013. Despite his prolonged absence, his salary allegedly continued for nearly a decade, amounting to around ₹16 lakh, in addition to pensionary benefits.On 22 November, the Uttar Pradesh government suspended four senior Minority Welfare Department officials for allegedly facilitating illegal salary disbursal, approving unauthorised leave, and clearing his VRS papers. Officials described the case as one of the most extraordinary instances of administrative collusion and systemic failure in the state’s madrassa education framework.An FIR has been registered under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (cheating) and relevant provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999. Two additional FIRs were lodged — one in Azamgarh for cheating and forgery, and another in Sant Kabir Nagar for concealing British citizenship and offences related to anti-national activities.An ATS report dated 25 March 2025 alleged that Huda frequently travelled to Pakistan for religious outreach activities, maintained contact with clerics and organisations in Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi, and interacted with separatist-leaning individuals in Jammu and Kashmir. After returning to India in 2017, he allegedly attempted to build ideological influence in eastern Uttar Pradesh through foreign-funded religious institutions.Post-return, Huda established Madrassa Kulliyatul Banatir Rajviya (Niswa) in Khalilabad and floated two NGOs — Kulliyatul Banatir Rajviya Educational & Welfare Society and Raza Foundation. The ATS flagged multiple foreign donations routed through NGO accounts, rapid institutional expansion, operation of a girls’ hostel from a rented house, and alleged diversion of funds for personal gain.The district administration had earlier sealed his girls’ madrassa over financial irregularities. A second madrassa opened in an adjoining compound was sealed again on 3 November.Investigators suspect the institutions functioned as operational nodes for foreign fund inflows and influence-building. ED officials said the money trail is only partially uncovered, and further attachments and arrests are likely as the probe progresses.
