The Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Court on Thursday ordered the seizure of 576 properties owned by former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury and his wife Rukhmila Zaman in the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
Judge Mohammed As-Shams Joglul Hossain passed the order, responding to a petition submitted by Anti-corruption Commission deputy director Ram Proshad Mandol, said ACC public prosecutor Mahmud Hossain Jahangir.
ACC officials told the court that they found evidence about 576 apartments and houses of Saifuzzaman and Rukhmila abroad. Of the assets, 343 are in the United Kingdom, 224 in the United Arab Emirates, and nine houses in the United States of America.
Saifuzzaman purchased the assets between 2015 and 2024 when he was a minister and state minister in Bangladesh, said ACC officials.
ACC also told the court that they found evidence that the former minister bought the assets by laundering money from Bangladesh.
The court ordered the competent authorities, including HM Land Registry, England & Wales for the assets in the UK, Dubai Land Department, UAE for properties in UAE and State Register, New York and Florida, USA for the assets in the USA for necessary measures for the seizure of the properties.
Apart from this, it also asked the chairman, Dubai Islamic Bank, chairman and CEO, First Abu Dhabi Bank in UAE, managing director of Janata Bank PLC, Bangladesh, chairman and CEO of TD Bank in the USA to freeze the banks鈥� accounts of the couple.
Earlier, ACC decided to launch an inquiry against Saifuzzaman and his family members over allegations of amassing illegal wealth through corruption and laundering money abroad.