UK to sell former Bangladesh land minister's properties to clear debts

His property portfolio, worth an estimated £170 million, includes more than 300 houses, flats and apartment blocks in London and the South East

Authorities in the United Kingdom have moved to sell part of the British property holdings of former Bangladesh land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed as part of efforts to repay debts amid allegations of large-scale corruption and money laundering.

Six UK residential property companies linked to Saifuzzaman have been placed into administration, according to The Telegraph. His portfolio, worth an estimated £170 million, includes more than 300 houses, flats and apartment blocks in London and the South East.

The British newspaper reports that the action follows a request from Bangladesh’s current administration and a freezing order by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), which targeted assets including an £11 million luxury home in St John’s Wood and a block of flats in central London's Fitzrovia.

Grant Thornton, the UK-based insolvency and asset management firm, has been appointed to sell a large portion of the seized properties. The proceeds will be used to repay creditors, including Singapore’s DBS Bank, the British Arab Commercial Bank, and Bangladesh’s United Commercial Bank (UCB), which is seeking to recover around £260 million.

The case forms part of a broader corruption investigation into former allies and family members of Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina. British officials have expressed concern at the scale of UK property wealth amassed by figures connected to her Awami League government, The Telegraph reports.

Saifuzzaman has denied all allegations, insisting the properties were purchased with legitimate funds and describing the accusations as politically motivated.

Until Hasina’s ouster from power in August 2024, UCB was controlled by Saifuzzaman's family, with his wife, Rukhmila Zaman, serving as chair of the bank’s board. The couple faces separate charges in Bangladesh over the alleged embezzlement and laundering of Tk 250 million from UCB.

Bangladeshi court orders have also frozen 343 properties in the UK, 228 in the United Arab Emirates, and nine in the United States linked to Saifuzzaman and his wife, as well as other assets worldwide.

The corruption scandal has also touched UK politics. Tulip Siddiq, the Labour MP and niece of Hasina, resigned as a treasury minister in January amid scrutiny over alleged links to Awami League-associated properties. She is one of 27 people indicted last week by Bangladeshi courts, alongside her aunt.

Tulip denies all wrongdoing, describing the charges as “completely absurd” and saying she has not been given details of the allegations. She has said she will not attend the trial in Bangladesh.