Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, former Bangladesh Minister of Land, is reportedly residing in a luxurious $14 million London house despite a court order barring him from leaving Bangladesh.
Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) has revealed that Saifuzzaman is under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for laundering millions of dollars into Britain.
Saifuzzaman, who was recently filmed walking near one of his six London properties valued at over $9 million, has amassed a global property empire, including hundreds of luxury homes in the UAE and the US.
His properties are now frozen under a court order, along with those owned by his wife, Rukhmila Zaman, who is also under investigation.
In an undercover Al Jazeera investigation titled “The Minister’s Millions”, Saifuzzaman boasted about his wealth, revealing that he owns 360 luxury homes in Britain alone.
Newly leaked data from 2023 indicates that the former minister holds over 250 properties in Dubai, valued at $140 million, while his wife owns 50 more in the city worth $25 million.
These revelations significantly expand on earlier leaks from 2020 and 2022, which listed only 54 UAE properties in their names.
The couple's vast real estate holdings, now totaling over 600 properties globally, are under scrutiny, as Bangladesh’s currency laws forbid citizens from taking more than $12,000 out of the country annually.
Saifuzzaman is accused of failing to declare his offshore wealth between 2018 and 2023.
After the government of prime minister Sheikh Hasina collapsed in August following student movement, Saifuzzaman fled Bangladesh.
Saifuzzaman claimed the money used to purchase his overseas properties comes from legitimate businesses outside Bangladesh and has called the investigation a politically motivated witch-hunt.
The interim government has launched a major anti-corruption investigation targeting former ministers, freezing Chowdhury’s and Zaman’s bank accounts while probing money laundering allegations.
