TDS Desk:

Saifuzzaman, a powerful Awami League leader, is a shrewd corrupt figure who laundered his illicit wealth abroad, amassing an empire of assets—most notably in the United Kingdom. He has allegedly laundered over Tk 5,000 crore to the UK, making him one of the major investors in the British real estate sector. Several of his properties in the UK have recently been seized, and investigations are ongoing.

According to investigations, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury (Javed) owns 360 properties in the UK alone, most of which were purchased from top developers such as the Berkeley Group. The current market value of these properties exceeds USD 400 million—equivalent to more than Tk 4,824 crore in Bangladeshi currency.

The revelations first surfaced in a 2023 investigative report by Al Jazeera titled “The Minister’s Millions.”

In London, all of Saifuzzaman’s assets are reportedly managed by Ripon Mahmud from Chattogram. Saifuzzaman allegedly secured loans from Singapore-based DBS Bank. A former employee of the bank, Rahul Mart, confirmed details about Saifuzzaman’s wealth and offered insights into how it was accumulated abroad.

Saifuzzaman was once considered very close and trusted by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He became a Member of Parliament and State Minister in 2014, and in 2019, Hasina promoted him to Minister of Land. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Saifuzzaman said, “My father was very close to the Prime Minister. To be honest, so am I.”

In his interview with Al Jazeera’s investigative team, Saifuzzaman openly described his lavish lifestyle. Regarding his footwear, he said, “These are tailor-made shoes. I also order custom shoes from Harrods. They take four months to be made. Each pair costs more than £3,000.”

He added that some of his shoes are crafted from ostrich and crocodile belly leather. “The ones made entirely from crocodile belly leather cost £6,000, while the ones mixed with calf leather cost £3,000,” he explained.

Saifuzzaman also expressed his preference for luxury suits, stating that he buys “Super 200” suits every time he visits London. These suits cost between £6,000 and £8,000 and are delivered to his residence from the high-end Kenali Bond Street.

According to Al Jazeera, their investigative team had been tracking Saifuzzaman before the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government. Despite an official annual salary of just $13,000, he managed to build a vast real estate empire in the UK.

From 2016 to 2021, Saifuzzaman acquired 265 properties in the UK through multiple shell companies created for purchasing real estate. Most of the properties were bought from top developers like the Berkeley Group.

In 2021 alone, he purchased additional properties worth $16 million. By 2020, he had acquired 89 more properties, bringing the total to 360, with a collective market value of $400 million.

Ripon Mahmud confirmed, “Our client owns over 300 properties in London. He visits, purchases a few homes, and leaves. During the lockdown, he spent £200 million to acquire new properties in the UK.”

Saifuzzaman himself acknowledged that all properties in the UK were bought through Ripon, whom he described as “his main man” and “like a brother.”

One such high-profile property in northwest London was sold in 2022 for £11 million. Located a stone’s throw from Regent’s Park and the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground, this luxurious white townhouse features floor-to-ceiling windows, spiral staircases, a private cinema, and a gym.

According to Bloomberg News, this property—and over 350 others worth nearly £200 million (approximately Tk 2,768.80 crore)—belong to Saifuzzaman Chowdhury.

Bloomberg’s analysis is based on data from the UK’s Companies House, mortgage charges, and HM Land Registry transactions. Saifuzzaman’s portfolio includes luxury apartments in Central London, housing developments in Tower Hamlets (home to the UK’s largest Bangladeshi community), and student residences in Liverpool.

Bloomberg found that over 90% of these properties were newly constructed and were bought during a period of intense housing crisis in the UK—at a time when the British government was under pressure to improve transparency in foreign property ownership, especially after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Bloomberg also discovered at least five properties in Manhattan, New York, purchased between 2018 and 2020 for around $6 million.

In his 2023 pre-election financial disclosure, Saifuzzaman claimed total assets worth Tk 258.3 million (about $2.4 million) and his wife Rukhmila Zaman’s assets worth $993,000. He made no mention of his UK assets in the declaration.

After the fall of the Awami League government, Saifuzzaman fled to Dubai. Recently, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) seized properties owned by the former land minister in response to a request from the Bangladesh government. He is currently prohibited from selling these assets.

ACCORDING TO INTELLIGENCE REPORTS, SAIFUZZAMAN HAS LAUNDERED MONEY AND AMASSED PROPERTIES IN AT LEAST FOUR COUNTRIES:

• United Arab Emirates – 228 properties
• United Kingdom – 336 properties
• United States – 7 properties

Additionally, he holds:

• 1 bank account in the U.S.
• 3 accounts in Singapore
• 4 accounts in the UAE