UK freezes £90m worth of properties linked to Salman F Rahman's son, nephew

The properties frozen by the National Crime Agency include two apartments in London's Grosvenor Square, The Guardian reports

The United Kingdom's National Crime Agency (NCA), which investigates serious and organised crime, has frozen luxury assets worth almost £90 million (Tk 14.76 billion) belonging to two members of a family closely associated with the ousted Awami League government.

Citing documents obtained from official sources, The Guardian reports that the NCA issued nine asset freezing orders amid growing pressure on the UK to assist investigations into properties linked to members of Bangladesh's ousted regime.

Among the orders is a restriction barring Ahmed Shayan F Rahman and his cousin Ahmed Shahriar Rahman from selling their assets. The frozen properties include apartments in London's Grosvenor Square.

The names of the two individuals surfaced in a Guardian investigation into properties owned in the UK by those close to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Shayan is the son of wealthy businessman and Hasina's former advisor Salman F Rahman, while Shahriar is Salman’s nephew.

After Hasina stepped down from power and left for India, Salman went into hiding and was later arrested while attempting to flee the country. He currently faces multiple corruption cases.

Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed charges against Salman, his son Shayan, and nephew Shahriar for allegedly laundering money to London through shell companies and misappropriating loan funds.

The case, filed on Mar 13, accuses the group of laundering Tk 760 million and embezzling Tk 336.4 million in bank loans. Eleven people were named as defendants, including seven officials from National Bank.

Earlier, on Mar 10, a court ordered the seizure of two London properties belonging to Salman and his son Shayan, following a petition by the ACC.

Most recently, two days ago, the UK’s NCA received authorisation to freeze two London apartments owned by Shayan.

According to a Financial Times report, one of the properties is a luxury apartment in Grosvenor Square purchased for £6.5 million in 2010.

Now, reports confirm that assets owned by Shahriar have also been seized alongside those of Shayan.

The properties covered by the freezing orders were purchased via offshore companies based in jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands, the Isle of Man, and Jersey. Company records show the values of these properties range from £1.2 million to £35.5 million.

Last year, The Guardian and Transparency International jointly began investigating the assets of Shayan and Shahriar. That investigation uncovered links to assets worth £400 million belonging to people close to Hasina.