UK crime agency freezes assets of former land minister Saifuzzaman

The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has frozen properties owned by Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, the former land minister of the fallen Awami League regime, as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged money laundering, Al Jazeera reports.

The move followed Bangladesh authorities' legal requests to take action against Saifuzzaman’s overseas assets.

A spokesperson for the NCA confirmed that the agency had secured freezing orders against “a number of properties” under civil investigation.

Saifuzzaman, a former Awami League leader and close ally of the deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, is under investigation for allegedly transferring large sums of money abroad in violation of Bangladesh’s currency regulations.

Al Jazeera previously reported that Saifuzzaman owned more than 350 properties in the UK, including a luxury home in St John’s Wood, London, worth 11 million pounds, which amounts to $14.8 million. The property is included in the freeze order.

During undercover meetings with Al Jazeera reporters, Saifuzzaman discussed his global property holdings and described his close ties with Hasina, saying, “I am like her son, actually.”

He also admitted to conducting business in the UK while serving in government, the report added.

Despite a $12,000 annual cap on foreign currency transfers for Bangladeshi citizens, Chowdhury allegedly spent over $500 million on properties in London, Dubai, and New York, none of which were declared in his tax filings in Bangladesh.

The UK agency’s action coincides with the visit of Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus to London.