UK crime agency freezes Saifuzzaman’s assets

The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has frozen properties owned by Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s former Minister of Land, according to Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit). 

The action follows requests from Bangladeshi authorities to target assets linked to Saifuzzaman, a close ally of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the now-banned Awami League. 

Saifuzzaman is also under investigation in Bangladesh for money laundering.

An NCA spokesperson confirmed the freezing order to Al Jazeera: “The NCA has secured freezing orders on multiple properties as part of an ongoing civil investigation.” 

The freeze prevents Saifuzzaman from selling the assets.

The NCA’s move, executed by the agency often called “Britain’s FBI,” coincided with a visit to London by Bangladesh’s interim leader, Professor Muhammad Yunus. 

Last year, Al Jazeera revealed that Saifuzzaman, 56, owns over 350 UK properties, including a £11 million ($14.8m) luxury home in St John’s Wood, London, now part of the asset freeze.

Undercover reporters from Al Jazeera’s I-Unit secretly filmed Saifuzzaman at his London home during a long-running investigation into his wealth. 

Saifuzzaman discussed his global property portfolio, expensive tastes in suits and “baby croc” leather shoes, and his close relationship with Hasina, saying, “I am like her son.” He also claimed Hasina was aware of his overseas business dealings.

Al Jazeera’s investigation found that Saifuzzaman, from a prominent family in Chattogram, built a property empire worth over $500m in London, Dubai, and New York, despite Bangladesh’s $12,000 annual limit on overseas currency transfers. 

He failed to declare these assets on his Bangladesh tax returns. 

The findings were featured in Al Jazeera’s documentary ‘The Minister’s Millions’, broadcast in October 2024.

Saifuzzaman was a key ally of Hasina, who fled Bangladesh in August 2024 after a violent crackdown on student protests left hundreds dead. 

Following her ousting, Bangladeshi authorities launched a corruption probe into her government.

After the unrest, Al Jazeera tracked Saifuzzaman to his London home, where he was seen taking leisurely walks near Lord’s Cricket Ground. 

In earlier statements, Saifuzzaman insisted his overseas properties were funded by legitimate businesses he owned for years and claimed he was targeted in a politically motivated “witch-hunt.”