How Ex-Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Built a $500 Million Property Empire

Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, a former Bangladeshi minister, has amassed over $500 million in properties globally despite an annual salary of just $13,000. He claims the funds are from legitimate businesses abroad. An investigation is underway regarding allegations of corruption and money laundering, following the freezing of his and his family’s accounts by Bangladesh authorities.

Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, a former minister from Bangladesh, reportedly amassed over $500 million in global real estate by acquiring more than 480 properties worldwide, including notable locations such as Dubai, London, and New York. Despite drawing an annual salary of only $13,000, Chowdhury asserts that the funds for his acquisitions originated from legitimate businesses he claims to operate overseas.

Chowdhury served as the land minister under the previous regime led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Notably, following a violent crackdown on student protests in August, he and Hasina fled the country. Troublingly, Chowdhury officially declared assets amounting to just $2.3 million in 2023, with no foreign income reported in his last tax return for 2017.

His property investments substantially increased post-2017 when he established companies in the UK, intensifying after his appointment as a minister in 2019. An investigative report indicates that Chowdhury’s property portfolio includes more than 300 properties in the United Kingdom, 142 in Dubai, and several in the United States, among other regions globally.

One of his prominent properties is a luxurious $14 million home in London, which Al Jazeera investigated. Upon scrutiny, Chowdhury maintained that his overseas real estate purchases stemmed from reputable business operations outside Bangladesh and claimed he was a target of political persecution due to his familial ties with the former Prime Minister.

Chowdhury has garnered support from various firms asserting the legitimacy of his wealth, having undergone thorough anti-money laundering checks. These companies affirm that his assets were derived from longstanding and legitimate businesses primarily located in the UAE, the US, and the UK, rather than from Bangladeshi sources.

As the investigation into Chowdhury unfolds amid allegations of endemic corruption within Hasina’s government, the Bangladesh central bank has frozen his personal and family accounts. Concurrently, the Anti-Corruption Commission has initiated an inquiry into Chowdhury’s purported illegal acquisition of extensive wealth and money laundering activities involving hundreds of millions of dollars in the UK.

In summary, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury’s significant wealth from a modest official salary raises serious questions about potential corruption within the political framework of Bangladesh. His assertion of legitimate business sources for his real estate empire stands in stark contrast to ongoing investigations into his financial activities. The scrutiny into Chowdhury’s assets not only reflects the broader issues of accountability in governance but also highlights the challenges posed by political affiliations in such investigations.

Original Source: www.news18.com