BM Desk: Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed, the former minister of land for Bangladesh, has had properties in the UK frozen by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), according to Al Jazeera.
This action comes after Bangladeshi authorities filed lawsuits to seize properties belonging to Saifuzzaman, a political associate of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the now-banned Awami League. Authorities in Bangladesh are investigating Saifuzzaman for money laundering.

A representative for the NCA confirmed the freezing order in a statement to Al Jazeera. “We can disclose that as part of an ongoing civil investigation, the NCA has obtained freezing orders against several properties.”

Because of the property freeze, Saifuzzaman is effectively unable to sell the assets.
The police force, which is frequently referred to as “Britain’s FBI,” took this step in conjunction with Chief Adviser Prof. Muhammad Yunus’s visit to London this week.
Deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who left Bangladesh in August 2024 after hundreds were slain as security forces repressed student protests, had been close to Saifuzzaman.

Authorities in Bangladesh began looking into claims of massive corruption in Hasina’s regime after she left office.
Saifuzzaman previously told Al Jazeera that the money he used to purchase his houses abroad came from respectable companies outside of Bangladesh that he had owned for many years. The former minister asserted that a politically driven “witch-hunt” was being conducted against him.

Based on company documents made public on UK official websites, The media calculated that Saifuzzaman owns at least 260 properties in the UK for which he has spent at least GBP 134.76 million, or Tk 1,888 crore.
At least 537 mortgages on UK homes are also held by the three-time Awami League MP. Most of these homes are located in London.
But according to his tax returns, which were sent to the Election Commission alongside his affidavit, he does not have any foreign income.

He only makes Tk 1.35 lakh a year from his firm, according to the affidavit. Even though the affidavit needs to include the yearly income of dependents, such as a wife and children, the minister omitted that information.