The Financial Crimes Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has launched an investigation into allegations of money laundering against former Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury.
Based on information and allegations from various sources, the CID has initiated investigation into Saifuzzaman, his associates and related entities for money laundering activities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore, according to a press release issued by the CID media wing today (October 31).
The release stated that Saifuzzaman founded a company called “Nahar Management Incorporated” in the United States in 2005.
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He then bought nine apartments in the US under the name of this company.
His wife, Rukhmila Zaman Chowdhury, bought two apartments in the Al Barsha South-3 area of the UAE, including Q Gardens and Boutique Residence, for a sum of 22,500,300 dirhams.
In addition, between 2016 and 2021, Saifuzzaman purchased 620 homes in the US, UK and UAE, with a market value of approximately $48 million,” the press release said.
The CID also stated that Saifuzzaman and his wife established eight companies in the United Kingdom and Dubai for business purposes between 2010 and 2023, with a combined fixed and current asset value of $21,726,000.
According to the allegations, he used laundered money from Bangladesh to set up these companies.
Moreover, Saifuzzaman and his family members are not listed among the 21 companies approved for foreign investment by the Bangladesh Bank.
The press release further noted that the asset declaration submitted by the former Land Minister to the Election Commission before the elections does not contain any information about his assets abroad.
In accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the CID initiated the investigation.
This development came to light after Al Jazeera published ‘The Minister’s Millions’ on September 18, an investigation which revealed that former Lands Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury has built a global real estate empire worth an estimated $500 million.
Later on October 7, the Dhaka Metropolitan Session Judge Court imposed a travel ban on the former Land Minister.
Wealth, violations and ‘witch hunt’
On October 22, Al Jazeera again reported that Saifuzzaman is currently staying in London in a $14 million home despite the travel ban.
According to Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit), the travel ban was enforced as anti-corruption authorities investigated allegations that he laundered millions of dollars into Britain.
Al Jazeera captured the former Lands Minister on film in London walking near a luxury apartment building where he owns six properties worth more than $9 million, which is just a small portion of his properties in Great Britain Britain.
These properties, along with hundreds of others in the United Arab Emirates and the United States, are now subject to a court order from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), which has frozen the assets of both Chowdhury and his wife.
He fled Bangladesh after the government collapsed in August following weeks of protests, during which security forces killed hundreds of demonstrators.
New data leaks from 2023 reveal that he owns more than 250 luxury apartments in Dubai, worth more than $140 million, while his wife owns another 50 properties in Dubai worth more than $25 million, Al Jazeera reports.
This brings the couple’s total assets to over 600 worldwide, with a value of almost $170 million in the UAE alone.
His acquisitions appear to violate currency laws, which prevent citizens from taking more than $12,000 out of the country annually.
Between 2018 and 2023, he reportedly failed to declare any of his offshore assets.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has frozen the couple’s bank accounts and denied them access while it investigates the alleged laundering of millions of dollars into Britain.
The former minister also told Al Jazeera that his wealth comes from legitimate companies outside Bangladesh and denied any wrongdoing. He called the investigation a politically motivated “witch hunt” after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
His wife made no comment.