Bangladesh targets UK assets linked to former regime

Millions allegedly laundered through luxury property by former officials

TDS Desk:

Members of the former Awami League regime who are under investigation have continued conducting business in London with relative ease, an investigation by The Guardian and Transparency International has revealed, raising concerns about the due diligence exercised by UK law firms and consultants facilitating these transactions.

According to The Guardian’s report published on Saturday, Bangladeshi authorities are working closely with the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to trace and recover assets believed to have been acquired through illicit means.

MILLIONS ALLEGEDLY LAUNDERED INTO UK PROPERTY

The interim government is actively investigating whether top officials and politically connected elites under Hasina’s regime laundered millions through UK property deals. Much of the suspected wealth was allegedly siphoned from state contracts and the banking system.

In May, the NCA, often referred to as “Britain’s FBI,” froze £90 million worth of real estate linked to Salman F Rahman’s family, whose UK holdings were previously revealed by a Guardian investigation.

Just three weeks later, the NCA froze over £170 million in assets belonging to Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, a former land minister accused of amassing over 300 UK properties during Hasina’s tenure.

New evidence suggests that several individuals under investigation have continued conducting business in the UK property market—selling, refinancing, or transferring ownership despite the ongoing probes.

CALLS FOR EXPANDED FREEZING ORDERS

Ahsan H Mansur, governor of Bangladesh Bank and a key figure in the asset recovery mission, is calling for broader UK cooperation.

“We are aware of efforts to liquidate assets and we would like the UK government to consider more freezing orders,” Mansur said.

Measures to block transactions would, he added: “Give us hope of following due process to repatriate assets.”

His stance is echoed by Mohammad Abdul Momen, chair of Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), who confirmed that he has formally requested the NCA to freeze more UK-based assets in response to post-revolution property activity.

Joe Powell MP, chair of a UK parliamentary group on corruption and tax, is also urging urgency.

“History tells us that assets can quickly evaporate unless swift steps are taken to freeze those assets while investigations are underway,” he said.

He welcomed recent NCA actions and added: “Expand the net as soon as possible.”

In early June, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus led a large Bangladeshi delegation to London. While staying at the £800-a-night Dorchester Hotel in Mayfair, the delegation sought to strengthen diplomatic ties and urged UK support in tracking illicit financial flows.

A CLOSER LOOK AT QUESTIONABLE DEALS

Disclosures from the UK Land Registry show that at least 20 “applications for dealing” have been submitted in the past year involving properties tied to individuals under investigation.

These typically involve sales, transfers, or changes to financing.

Among the most prominent names is the Sobhan family, owners of the multibillion-pound Bashundhara Group. Three property transactions linked to the family total around £24.5 million, The Guardian reports.

One such asset is a four-storey Knightsbridge townhouse, once owned via a UAE-based company by Sayem Sobhan Anvir, the group’s managing director.

In April, the property was transferred—apparently for free—to a UK firm named Brookview Heights Ltd, owned by a director of Orbis London, a real estate adviser previously connected to the Sobhans.

The property was then sold for £7.35 million to a newly formed company led by an accountant who has no online profile but appears to manage multiple luxury property-holding companies.

Two more “applications for dealing” were filed for other properties owned by Shafiat Sobhan, including an £8 million mansion in Virginia Water, Surrey.

The Sobhan family previously stated they “deny all allegations of wrongdoing and will robustly defend ourselves against these allegations.”

Saifuzzaman Chowdhury is not the only member of his family under scrutiny. His brother, Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, has been involved in several property transactions, including the £10 million sale of a Georgian townhouse near Regent’s Park last July.

His lawyers said the sale was agreed upon before the revolution and added:

He “did not believe that there was any legitimate reason for any of his assets to be frozen.”

Another figure under investigation is a British-Bangladeshi property developer who allegedly secured irregular loans via Chowdhury’s political influence. A Bangladeshi court recently imposed a travel ban on the developer, who denies all wrongdoing.

Three additional property dealings involve the family of Salman F Rahman, founder of the Beximco Group. His son, Ahmed Shayan Rahman, and nephew, Ahmed Shahryar Rahman, are under investigation by the ACC.

The properties, including a £35 million apartment in Grosvenor Square, were recently frozen by the NCA.

The Rahman family stated: “Political upheaval in Bangladesh had led to allegations being made against many people,” and they would “engage with any investigation which takes place in the UK.”

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL DEMANDS ACCOUNTABILITY

Transparency International is now questioning the role of UK professional firms that facilitated these property deals.

Law firm Jaswal Johnston submitted applications on properties tied to the Rahmans.

It clarified it had not been involved in sales and added that the firm took its due diligence obligations “extremely seriously.”

Another law firm, Merali Beedle, which handled applications for properties tied to the Rahmans and Sobhans, declined to comment.

Transparency International issued a broader warning: “Professional services firms should exercise extreme caution when conducting regulated activities for clients known to be under investigation. They should perform comprehensive source-of-wealth checks and immediately report suspicious activity to police.”

“Without swift action, these funds risk vanishing into the international financial system, potentially placing them beyond recovery.”