The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) filed a prosecution charge against Izhar Hussain Jafri, Ali Abbas Jafri, and Ravi Prakash Gupta in the matter of ‘Scholarship Scam,’ which the Hon’ble Special PMLA Court took cognizance of on 08/08/2023. These three people were apprehended by the ED on April 26, 2023, and are currently in judicial detention.
Previously, the ED searched many educational establishments in several districts of Uttar Pradesh and acquired important evidence of the crime. Following that, ED forwarded the information to UP Police under Section 66 of the PMLA, 2002 to file an FIR against the accused.
According to an ED investigation, these individuals were conducting the scam under the Hygia Group of institutions and illegally received scholarship monies of INR 100 Crore (approx.) using Aadhar and bank details of ineligible persons posing as students. An ED inquiry found that the accused registered 3000 similar accounts in the names of students using other people’s papers and common email IDs.
Ravi Prakash Gupta, Izhar Hussain Jafri, and Ali Abbas Jafri conspired with FINO payment bank agents Mohd. Sahil Aziz, Amit Kumar Maurya, Tanveer Ahmad, and Jitendra Singh, among others, to divert scholarship funds from students’ accounts to the bank accounts of the Hygia group of colleges and other individuals and institutions. During the investigation, it was discovered that Izhar Hussain Jafri, Ali Abbas Jafri, and Ravi Prakash Gupta not only controlled the bank accounts of the beneficiaries and illegally kept their ATM cards, phone numbers, and so on for self-operation but also illegally withdrew the scholarship funds in cash from the students’ bank accounts at various locations.
The scholarship monies were also sent to the accounts of the accused and their family, as well as the Oregon Educational Society. Earlier in the inquiry, the ED attached bank balances and immovable assets in the form of land totalling Rs.3.2 Crore under the terms of the PMLA. More research is being conducted.
