UK crime agency now freezes assets of ex-land minister Saifuzzaman: Aljazeera

 The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has frozen several properties owned by Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed, a former land minister of Bangladesh and a senior leader of the ruling Awami League, as part of an ongoing money laundering investigation, Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) has reported.

The move follows formal legal requests from Bangladeshi authorities seeking international cooperation to act against Chowdhury’s overseas assets. An NCA spokesperson confirmed to Al Jazeera that freezing orders have been obtained against “a number of properties” in connection with a civil investigation currently underway.

“These orders effectively prevent the sale or transfer of the properties in question,” the spokesperson said.

Citing unnamed sources within the NCA, Al Jazeera reports that one of the frozen properties includes a luxury residence located in the upscale St John’s Wood area of London. The report highlights that Chowdhury allegedly owns more than 350 properties across the UK, raising serious questions about the source of his wealth.

Chowdhury, 56, has long faced allegations in Bangladesh of illegally amassing wealth during his time in public office. The property freeze by UK authorities comes amid broader scrutiny of high-profile figures linked to financial misconduct in Bangladesh.

The timing of the asset freeze also coincides with a visit to London by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, though it remains unclear if there is any direct connection between the events.

This latest action by the NCA comes just weeks after two other London properties were frozen, linked to Ahmed Shayan Fazlur Rahman, the son of influential businessman Salman F Rahman, who is currently incarcerated in Dhaka.

The UK’s NCA, often referred to as “Britain’s FBI,” has increasingly taken steps in recent years to clamp down on foreign assets believed to be linked to illicit financial flows.