The Minister’s Millions: Saifuzzaman’s $500m global property empire exposed
An undercover investigation by Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit has exposed former Bangladeshi Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury's half-billion-dollar property empire, built while earning a modest official salary.
Despite Bangladesh’s strict currency laws, which cap foreign transfers at $12,000 per year, and regulations prohibiting ministers from profiting from private businesses, Chowdhury—a close ally of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina—was found to have acquired over 360 luxury properties in the UK, valued at $250 million. His investments also span real estate in Dubai, New York, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Chowdhury boasted about his political connections, stating, "My father was very close to the Prime Minister [Sheikh Hasina], and I am too... She is my boss... She knows I have a business here [in Britain]." His property purchases intensified in 2019, coinciding with his appointment as a government minister.
Sheikh Hasina is currently in exile in India following her government's crackdown on student protests in July, and many of her ministers, including Chowdhury, have fled the country. Bangladeshi authorities are now investigating accusations that Chowdhury laundered millions of dollars into the UK. His bank accounts have been frozen, and control of his family-owned United Commercial Bank Ltd. (UCBL) has been transferred to the government to protect depositors.
Al Jazeera reporters, posing as property investors, met Chowdhury at his $14 million London home, where he flaunted his wealth, showcasing his collection of hand-made crocodile shoes and tailored Italian suits. The lavish home, complete with a private elevator, gym, and Rolls-Royce in secure underground parking, is part of the portfolio that Chowdhury claims was funded by legitimate businesses in the UK, UAE, and the US.
This is not the first time Chowdhury's wealth has raised eyebrows. Bangladesh’s interim government has requested the UK’s assistance in investigating his overseas assets, with a focus on his UK property portfolio, valued at £150 million. Transparency International UK has also flagged his holdings as "unexplained wealth."
Chowdhury’s real estate spree began in 2017 when he established UK companies, and it significantly accelerated after he became a minister in 2019. Between 2019 and 2022, entities controlled by Chowdhury acquired at least 280 properties in the UK, including the Emerson Bainbridge House in central London, 61 properties in Tower Hamlets, and a Co-op supermarket site in Bristol. The financing of these purchases remains unclear, though mortgage debt appears to have been involved.
Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has since launched an investigation into Chowdhury’s alleged acquisition of illegal assets and is also scrutinizing his stock market investments.
Despite these allegations, Chowdhury insists that his wealth was legally obtained through international business ventures and denies any wrongdoing. His lawyer, Ajmalul Hossain KC, asserted that Chowdhury has "nothing to hide."
