Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, the former land minister of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, is currently in the UK despite the court ban on his departure.
The Investigative Unit (I-Unit) of Qatar-based media outlet Al Jazeera located the former Bangladesh minister in a luxury $14 million London home.
Al Jazeera investigative journalists Zulqarnain Sayer Khan and Ul Thorn reported this information on Monday. It is said that 300 more houses of former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury have been found in the United Arab Emirates.
Earlier, after a long investigation, a report titled The Minister’s Millions published by Al Jazeera on September 18 said that Saifuzzaman Chowdhury had bought 360 luxury houses in the UK at a cost of 250 million dollars. Which is equal to about 3 thousand crore rupees in Bangladesh money. Apart from Britain, he has expanded his real estate business to the Middle Eastern countries of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, New York, Singapore and Malaysia. Altogether he bought more than seven hundred houses. Which are worth more than 850 million US dollars. Which is more than 10 thousand crore Bangladeshi taka.
According to Al Jazeera’s I-Unit report on Monday, the Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating the allegations against Saifuzzaman Chowdhury of laundering billions of dollars in Britain. Meanwhile, the court has banned him from leaving the country. Although the former minister is currently living in a luxury apartment in London.
I-Unit investigative journalists recently caught Saifuzzaman Chowdhury walking past a luxury apartment in London. He owns six properties in the area worth more than $9 million; which is a small part of the wealth empire he built in the UK.
Apart from Britain, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury has expanded his real estate business to the Middle Eastern countries of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, New York, Singapore and Malaysia. The court ordered the seizure of these assets of Chowdhury and his wife in view of the application of the Anti-Corruption Commission of Bangladesh.
The government led by Sheikh Hasina fell in Bangladesh on August 5 after several weeks of violent protests by students. Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a close ally of Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, fled to India on the same day. Saifuzzaman Chowdhury fled Bangladesh after the fall of the government.
More properties in Dubai
After a long investigation, Al Jazeera highlighted the wealth empire built by former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury in different countries of the world in the report titled ‘The Minister’s Millions’ last September; Its market value is 500 million US dollars. The former minister told Al Jazeera’s undercover reporters that he had expanded his real estate business to Dubai, New York, Singapore and Malaysia. Since 2016, he has bought over 360 homes in the UK alone.
Al Jazeera’s investigation has revealed that the number of Chowdhury’s properties in Dubai is higher than initially thought. Newly leaked property data for 2023 shows Saifuzzaman Chowdhury listed owner of more than 250 luxury apartments in the UAE; Which is worth more than 140 million dollars.
According to data obtained by I-Unit, Chowdhury’s wife Rukhmila Zaman is the listed owner of another 50 houses worth over USD 25 million in Dubai. An investigation is also underway in Bangladesh against Rukhmila Zaman on charges of money laundering.
Leaked data on properties in Dubai for 2020 and 2022 found another 54 properties listed by the couple. Al Jazeera’s undercover footage shows the fugitive minister boasting about owning a penthouse in the prestigious Opera District. And the land records also confirmed that he is the listed owner of a luxury apartment there; The price of which is more than 5 million dollars.
According to newly leaked information, the former minister and his wife are believed to have spent around $170 million buying more than 300 apartments in the UAE. Altogether the couple owns more than 600 listed properties around the world.
Money Laundering Investigation
The Currency Act of Bangladesh prohibits a citizen from taking more than $12,000 a year out of the country. Saifuzzaman Chowdhury violated Bangladesh’s tax laws by failing to declare his offshore assets between 2018 and 2023, an Al Jazeera investigation found.
After former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country, the current interim government of Bangladesh has launched an investigation into allegations of massive corruption by former ministers. The country’s authorities have already seized the bank accounts of Chowdhury and his wife. The court also barred the couple from leaving the country pending an investigation into allegations of laundering millions of dollars in Britain.
However, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury told Al Jazeera that he used the money from his legitimate business outside Bangladesh to buy foreign property. He has owned this business for years. Saifuzzaman Chowdhury claimed that he had become a politically motivated victim against people associated with the ousted government.
Al Jazeera reported that there was no response from Rukhmila Zaman when asked to comment on these allegations.
