EXCLUSIVE
An undercover operation reveals how the politician purchased lots of of homes overseas with a wage of 13,000 {dollars} a 12 months.
Former Bangladeshi Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury spent greater than $500 million on luxurious actual property in London, Dubai and New York however didn’t declare his abroad property in his Bangladeshi tax returns, Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) has revealed.
Unit I went undercover within the UK to analyze how Chowdhury, 55, from a strong household within the port metropolis of Chittagong, amassed a property empire regardless of a $12,000 annual restrict as a part of the nation’s foreign money legal guidelines on the quantity a citizen can take out of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Supreme Court docket Advocate Dr Shahdeen Malik instructed Al Jazeera that the nation’s structure clearly states that politicians should declare their abroad property.
Bangladeshi authorities have frozen his financial institution accounts and are actually investigating allegations that Chowdhury laundered thousands and thousands of {dollars} within the UK.
Chowdhury had been an in depth ally of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled Bangladesh in August after lots of of individuals had been killed when safety forces cracked down on scholar protests.
Following Hasina’s departure, Bangladeshi authorities launched an investigation into allegations of widespread corruption in her authorities.
Bangladesh’s central financial institution has since frozen the financial institution accounts of former land minister Chowdhury and his household, whereas the state’s Anti-Corruption Fee has launched an investigation into allegations that he had illegally acquired “1000’s of crore taka” (lots of of thousands and thousands of {dollars}) and laundered it within the UK.
Our analysis on the #MinistersMillions Uncover how a strong Bangladeshi politician constructed a $500 million property empire.
See inside Saifuzzaman Chowdhury’s $14 million London residence as he reveals his hidden wealth to our hidden cameras.
Watch: https://t.co/czUnKORUrN picture.twitter.com/rByTyzrcuU— Al Jazeera Investigations (@AJIunit) September 18, 2024
I-Unit’s investigation revealed that Chowdhury was capable of buy 360 properties within the UK alone since 2016.
Anti-money laundering legal guidelines contemplate politicians and high-ranking authorities officers to be at excessive danger for corruption as a result of their wealth may come from stolen state funds or bribes paid to acquire authorities contracts.
London-based actual property agent Ripon Mahmood launched Al Jazeera’s undercover journalists to a community of London advisers who helped Chowdhury construct his property empire: Charles Douglas Solicitors LLP, which acted on his behalf in refinancing greater than 100 property loans; Paresh Raja, who made lots of of loans by way of his firm Market Monetary Options and his different companies; and Rahul Marde of Singaporean financial institution DBS, which additionally lent cash to the minister.
As a senior politician, he would have been classed as a politically uncovered individual (PEP) and would have required additional scrutiny and strict controls when coping with property brokers, banks, lenders and attorneys within the UK.
Responding to the findings, Chowdhury instructed Al Jazeera that the funds used to buy his abroad properties got here from authentic companies outdoors Bangladesh that he has had for years.
Chowdhury fled Bangladesh in August and says he’s the goal of a politically motivated “witch hunt” focusing on folks related to the previous authorities.
Charles Douglas Solicitors LLP, Market Monetary Options, Paresh Raja, DBS Financial institution and Ripon Mahmood instructed Al Jazeera they’d carried out strict anti-money laundering checks on Chowdhury. In addition they mentioned his funds got here from authentic and long-standing companies within the UAE, US and UK, not Bangladesh.
Advisers say the current occasions in Bangladesh weren’t info obtainable to anybody who conducts historic anti-money laundering or know-your-customer checks, that are normal procedures for monetary establishments.
Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit is following the Minister’s thousands and thousands to uncover how Chowdhury constructed his $500 million property empire.