The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has seized properties belonging to Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s former land minister, following a formal request from the Bangladeshi government, according to a report by Al Jazeera.

The report indicates that Chowdhury is currently under investigation in Bangladesh on allegations related to money laundering. He was known to be a close associate of Sheikh Hasina, the now-banned leader of the Awami League and former Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

In a statement, the NCA confirmed that several of Chowdhury’s assets in the UK have been frozen as part of an ongoing civil investigation. The freezing order prevents him from selling or transferring these assets. The development coincided with the London visit of Professor Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor to Bangladesh’s interim government.

Previously, in October last year, Al Jazeera aired an investigative piece titled The Minister’s Millions, which revealed that Chowdhury owned over 350 properties in the UK, including a luxurious mansion in London’s St John’s Wood valued at around £11 million (approximately $14.8 million). In a secretly recorded interview inside the residence, Chowdhury openly discussed his wealth and his preference for high-end fashion and luxury brands.

He reportedly told journalists, “I am like a son to Sheikh Hasina. She knows I do business here.”

Chowdhury, who comes from an influential family in Chattogram, has faced scrutiny over how he accumulated assets worth more than $500 million abroad despite Bangladesh’s strict annual foreign exchange limit of just $12,000. Reports suggest that he did not declare these assets, located in London, Dubai, and New York, in his tax filings in Bangladesh.

Following the collapse of Sheikh Hasina’s government in August 2024 after a violent student uprising that resulted in hundreds of deaths, Bangladesh’s new administration launched a series of corruption investigations targeting officials from the previous regime.