Al Jazeera Investigation Reveals Former Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Owns 360 Properties in the UK

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Former Land Minister of the deposed Sheikh Hasina government, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury (Javed), owns 360 houses in the United Kingdom alone. Most of these properties were purchased from leading developers like Berkeley Group. The current market value of these properties is $320 million, which amounts to over 38.24 billion Bangladeshi Taka. Additionally, he has assets in the United States and Dubai.

Al Jazeera's investigation revealed that in London, all of Saifuzzaman's assets are managed by Ripon Mahmud from Chittagong. Saifuzzaman has taken loans from DBS Bank in Singapore, and the bank’s employee Rahul Mart described the extent of Saifuzzaman’s assets. Insights have also emerged on how he accumulated such wealth abroad.

Saifuzzaman himself mentioned his assets and personal life in an interview, stating that Sheikh Hasina was aware of his overseas business. He told Al Jazeera’s investigative team, 'She knew I had business here.'

The report highlighted Saifuzzaman’s close relationship with former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, explaining that he became a Member of Parliament and a junior minister in 2014, and was promoted to Land Minister in 2019. Saifuzzaman stated, 'My father was very close to the Prime Minister, and so am I.'

In an interview with Al Jazeera’s investigative team, Saifuzzaman shared stories of his luxurious lifestyle, even describing his custom-made shoes: 'These are tailor-made shoes. I have custom-made shoes ordered from Harrods as well. They take four months to make, and I bought each pair for over £3,000.'

These special shoes are made from ostrich and crocodile belly leather. Shoes made entirely from crocodile belly leather cost £6,000, while those combining crocodile and calf leather cost £3,000, taking four months to produce.

Al Jazeera’s investigative report, titled 'The Minister’s Millions,' aired on Wednesday night, and was conducted by the Al Jazeera Investigative Unit (I-Unit). It revealed that by 2020, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury owned at least 54 properties in Dubai and several luxury apartments in the United States, including nine in prime locations—five in Manhattan and four across the river in New Jersey.

The report stated that Saifuzzaman concealed these vast foreign assets in his election affidavit and tax files. Saifuzzaman prefers suits and mentioned buying a 'Super 200' suit, priced between £6,000 and £8,000, during each visit to London. He shops at Kenali on Bond Street, and they deliver the suits to his home.

Al Jazeera’s investigation had been tracking Saifuzzaman Chowdhury since before the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government. Despite an annual salary of $13,000, he amassed a vast property empire in the UK. The I-Unit's global investigation into the minister's wealth uncovered a shocking amount of assets. In Bangladesh, the source of Saifuzzaman's wealth comes from his businesses and shares in UCB Bank.

Under Bangladesh’s monetary policy, citizens are allowed to take no more than $12,000 abroad annually, a policy implemented to protect the country’s economy.

Supreme Court lawyer Shahdeen Malik stated, 'Our foreign currency reserves have drastically decreased. If someone transfers money abroad without the approval of Bangladesh Bank, it constitutes a crime under the money laundering law.'

The Al Jazeera report detailed how Saifuzzaman created several companies to purchase properties in the UK from developers. Between 2016 and 2021, he purchased 265 houses in the UK, most of them from top developers like Berkeley Group.

His acquisitions didn’t stop there. In 2021, he bought more properties in London worth $16 million, and by 2020, after buying an additional 89 houses, his total number of properties reached 360, with a market value of $320 million.

The report mentioned that politically exposed persons (PEPs) are supposed to undergo strict scrutiny when acquiring assets in the UK. Al Jazeera’s investigative team visited one of his properties to investigate how Saifuzzaman bypassed this scrutiny.

Ripon Mahmud stated, 'Our client (Saifuzzaman) owns 300 houses in London. He comes to London, buys a few houses, and leaves. During the lockdown, he spent £200 million on new houses in the UK.'

Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, in his interview with the Al Jazeera team, mentioned that Ripon was his main person in London, and all his property purchases in London and the UK were done through Ripon, whom he referred to as his brother.

Al Jazeera's investigative team met Ripon while pretending to be wealthy foreign investors wanting to transfer $100 million from China to the UK. This led to further revelations about Saifuzzaman’s hidden wealth.

In a meeting with Ripon, he described how Saifuzzaman avoids big projects to avoid alerting authorities. Ripon explained, 'He brings in a million and says, "I didn’t pay in cash. The bank gave me the money."' During the investigation, Al Jazeera also found out that Saifuzzaman had acquired nine luxury apartments in the U.S., five in Manhattan, and four in New Jersey.

Later, Ripon admitted that Saifuzzaman was his biggest client and had been investing more than £10 million annually through him for the past four years.

Al Jazeera’s team finally met with Saifuzzaman at his London home, where he mentioned that all his profits from his business were invested in Dubai and London. He said, 'I have the best property in downtown Dubai, near the Dubai Mall. I have a beautiful penthouse in the Opera area and a villa with a private lake. I also own properties in Singapore and Malaysia. In Manhattan, I have beautiful properties as well.'

When asked how he transferred such large sums of money abroad, Saifuzzaman explained, 'I have a real estate buying and selling business in Dubai. I bring money from Dubai here and then take out a loan.'

Al Jazeera’s report stated that Bangladesh authorities recently ordered a freeze on Saifuzzaman Chowdhury’s personal and business bank accounts. His current whereabouts are unknown, though he mentioned in a recent conversation that he has left Bangladesh."