UK freezes London properties of Salman Rahman’s son Shayan: report

Britain’s National Crime Agency has obtained freezing orders on two London properties owned by the son of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s advisor Salman F Rahman, reports Financial Times.

The first of Ahmed Shayan Fazlur Rahman’s luxury apartment is located at 17 Grosvenor Square in London, which was purchased in 2010 for £6.5 million, the report cited company and property filings.

The other is at Gresham Gardens in north London, which was acquired for £1.2 million the following year, it said.

Sheikh Rehana, the sister of Hasina and mother of former UK City minister Tulip Siddiq, has lived at the Gresham Gardens property, according to UK electoral roll records, though it is not clear whether she still resides there, it added

“We can confirm that the NCA has secured freezing orders against property in 17 Grosvenor Square, London, and Gresham Gardens, London, as part of an ongoing civil investigation. We cannot comment further at this time,” Financial Times quoted the NCA as saying.

Both Salman, co-founder of Beximco Group, and Shayan are suspects in embezzlement investigations by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

The properties are owned through offshore companies in the Isle of Man, the filings show.

A spokesperson for Shayan told Financial Times, “Our client denies any involvement in any alleged wrongdoing in the strongest possible terms. He will of course engage with any investigation which takes place in the UK.

“It is well known that there is political upheaval in Bangladesh, where numerous allegations are being made against many hundreds of individuals. We would expect the UK authorities to take this into consideration.”

Rehana and Salman could not immediately be reached for comment, the report said.

Hasina’s government, which ruled from 2009 until August 2024, was overthrown following a student-led mass uprising. She then fled to India.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus then took charge of an interim government as chief advisor.

Siddiq, the niece of Sheikh Hasina and still a Labour MP, became embroiled in the scandal after being named in two probes initiated by the ACC.

She has denied wrongdoing, but quit in January amid warnings that she risked damaging the reputation of the British government.