Court orders attachment of 518 UK flats, houses of Saifuzzaman

A Dhaka court on Thursday ordered the attachment of 518 houses, flats and apartments in the United Kingdom owned by former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury in connection with a money laundering case.

The properties are valued at approximately £271.85 million, according to case documents.

Md Sabbir Faiz, judge of the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court in Dhaka, issued the order following a hearing on a petition filed by Anti-Corruption Commission Deputy Director Md Moshiur Rahman.

According to the petition, a nine-member task force comprising officials from the ACC, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and National Board of Revenue was formed to investigate allegations of money laundering against Mr Chowdhury and his associates.

During the investigation, the task force recovered 23 sacks of documents from a residence in Karnaphuly upazila on September 21 last year. After reviewing the documents, investigators prepared a list of properties acquired by Chowdhury and related persons and entities in several countries.

Later, a list of properties located in the UK was submitted to the court seeking an attachment order.

The petition stated that investigators learned from confidential sources that Mr Chowdhury and his associates were attempting to transfer or dispose of their immovable properties to third parties.

It warned that if the assets were transferred, altered or otherwise disposed of, the state could suffer substantial losses. The court was therefore requested to immediately attach the properties and send the order to the country concerned.

Public Prosecutor Md Delwar Jahan Rumi appeared for the Anti-Corruption Commission during the hearing.

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