UK approached to investigate $17bn worth of assets linked to Hasina's allies: BB governor tells Financial Times

Bangladesh's interim government has approached the UK to help probe the overseas wealth of allies of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina as it investigates whether Hasina's regime diverted around $17 billion overseas from the country's banking system. 

In particular, the focus is on identifying the source of funds used to pay for a UK property portfolio worth  £150mn owned by former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Ahsan Mansur, Bangladesh's new central bank governor, said he had sought the help of the UK among other countries. He said such assets may also be in the US, Singapore and the UAE. 

"The UK government has been very helpful. The high commissioner was in my office and they offered lots of technical support," said Mansur. 

Mansur told Financial Times that probing the assets was "an issue that we'll seek help from the UK government to the extent these assets can be recovered".

On the $17bn laundered, amounting to around Tk2 trillion, Mansur said, "A heist of this order could not have taken place without the knowledge of the prime minister". 

He, however, added that the investigations were at a "very early stage".

UK officials confirmed to Financial Times that a meeting took place, but declined to comment on what was discussed.

Interim government Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus in August sought support from the British government through its envoy in Dhaka to track and get back the money laundered to the UK allegedly by the people linked to the Sheikh Hasina-led government.

Amassing wealth, but how?

The overseas wealth of Hasina's allies received extensive scrutiny in Bangladesh and internationally.

The Transparency International UK earlier this year cited the British real estate portfolio owned by companies linked to former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury as an example of "unexplained wealth".

The Financial Times reviewed the HM Land Registry and UK Companies House records and found that entities controlled by Chowdhury acquired at least 280 properties for more than £150mn.

It found that the bulk of the properties were acquired between 2019 and 2022, with Chowdhury's tenure as land minister starting from 2019.

The properties include the freehold to the listed Emerson Bainbridge House in Fitzrovia, central London, 61 properties in Tower Hamlets, east London, and the site of a Co-op supermarket in Bristol.

The financing of the UK property purchases are unclear, although the companies have registered charges at Companies House, indicating the use of mortgage debt, the Financial Times reported today. 

Chowdhury's lawyer  Ajmalul Hossain KC told Financial Times that his client had "nothing to hide" and denied he had stolen anything.

In a press conference earlier this year, Chowdhury also said his overseas assets came from international business interests.