Ex-land minister living in London despite travel ban: Al Jazeera report

Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, the former land minister, is currently residing in a $14 million home in London, despite a court order barring him from leaving the country, according to Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit).

The travel ban was enforced as anti-corruption authorities investigated accusations that he laundered millions of dollars into the UK.

Al Jazeera captured the former land minister on film in London walking near a luxury apartment block where he owns six properties valued at over $9 million, which are only a small portion of his property holdings in the UK.

These properties, along with hundreds of others located in the United Arab Emirates and the United States, are now subject to a court order by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), which has frozen the assets of both Chowdhury and his wife.

He fled Bangladesh after the government collapsed in August amid weeks of protests, during which security forces killed hundreds of demonstrators. 

Earlier in September, Al Jazeera released The Minister’s Millions, an investigation revealing that former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury has amassed a global property empire worth an estimated $500 million. 

New data leaks from 2023 show he owns more than 250 luxury apartments in Dubai, valued at over $140 million, while his wife, Rukhmila Zaman, owns an additional 50 properties in Dubai worth over $25 million. 

This brings the couple’s total property holdings to over 600 worldwide, valued at nearly $170 million in the UAE alone.

His acquisitions appear to violate currency laws, which limit citizens from taking more than $12,000 out of the country annually. 

Between 2018 and 2023, he reportedly failed to declare any of his offshore wealth. 

The Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has frozen the couple’s bank accounts and barred them from leaving the country while investigating the alleged laundering of millions of dollars into Britain.

The former minister also told Al Jazeera that his wealth comes from legitimate businesses outside of Bangladesh and denied any wrongdoing, calling the investigation a politically motivated “witch-hunt” following the ousting of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. His wife, Rukhmila Zaman, has not commented.