A writ petition has been filed with the High Court seeking an investigation into the allegation that former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury has built a real estate empire in the UK by purchasing more than 350 properties worth around £200 million (around Tk2,770 crore) since 2016.
Supreme Court lawyer Md Salauddin filed the writ petition on Thursday.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has been made defendant in the petition.
Earlier, a report on the ex-land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury’s property empire in the UK was published in the national daily.
The writ petition was filed in the High Court attaching the report.
The writ said a property on a private residential street in north-west London was sold for £13.8 million in 2022. According to the property platform, the house is currently worth more than Tk180 million or £1.3 million and is owned by former land minister of Bangladesh Saifuzzaman Chowdhury.
However, according to the law of Bangladesh, no citizen, resident, or government employee can take more than $12,000 (Tk1.317 million) out of the country in a year. The permission is granted only subject to certain conditions, the writ adds.
Saifuzzaman Chowdhury’s vast empire comprises over 350 properties, ranging from luxury apartments in central London to residential buildings in areas with significant Bangladeshi communities, Bloomberg News reported.
His impressive portfolio in the UK encompasses a diverse range of real estate investments, from high-end apartments in prime London locations to strategic housing in Tower Hamlets and student accommodations in Liverpool.
The international news agency also analyzed nearly 250 of his UK properties and found that almost 90% were classified as new builds when bought, a valuable component in a UK housing market suffering severe shortages.
The figures were based on a Bloomberg analysis of available Companies House corporate accounts in the UK, mortgage charges, and HM Land Registry transactions.
Saifuzzaman’s reach extends beyond the UK, with at least five properties in Manhattan, New York, adding a global dimension to his property footprint.