Former land minister Saifuzzaman's property worth 700 million dollars abroad
September 19, 20242 Mins Read

Jumbangla Desk: After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, illegal assets of former ministers and MPs are being found one after another. One such minister is former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury. He built a mountain of wealth in the UK. He built an empire abroad despite receiving a small government salary.

Saifuzzaman

This information came out in an inquiry of Al Jazeera based in Qatar. The media broadcasted the news on Wednesday (18 September).

According to the report, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury bought 360 luxury houses in the UK at a cost of 250 million dollars. Which is equal to about 3 thousand crore rupees in Bangladesh money. Apart from Britain, he has expanded his real estate business to the Middle Eastern countries of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, New York, Singapore and Malaysia. Altogether he bought more than five hundred houses. The value of which is about 700 million dollars, which is 8 thousand 367 crores in Bangladeshi taka.

Al Jazeera says that Saifuzzaman had a close relationship with former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Which he himself admitted and said, 'My father was very close to Sheikh Hasina. I am also close to him. Sheikh Hasina is my boss, she knows I have business in UK.'

According to the report, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury increased the purchase of property around 2017. When he became a minister in 2019, it increased.

Al Jazeera said last year its journalist visited Saifuzzaman's $14 million home under the guise of an investor. Saifuzzaman bragged to 'undercover' reporters at the time that he spent thousands of dollars on handmade crocodile leather shoes and Italian suits from London's most expensive shops.

Apart from that, he also showed around his own house in London at that time. which includes a cinema hall, gym, private elevator and a secure underground parking area to house the new Rolls-Royals cars.

The former minister told Al Jazeera that he bought these assets through his legitimate businesses in the United Kingdom, the United States and the United Arab Emirates. However, the interim government has now launched an investigation against him accusing him of money laundering. Meanwhile, his bank account was seized and UCBL, owned by his family, took control of the bank. Apart from this, when Sheikh Hasina fled to India in the face of the uprising of the students, Saifuzzaman left the country.

Click here to listen to the report on Al Jazeera's YouTube .