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The Briton National Crime Agency obtained freeze on two properties of London belonging to the son of an ally of ousted chief of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, following allegations according to which her diet diverted funds.
The properties belong to Ahmed Shayan Fazlur Rahman, the son of Salman F Rahman, a Bangladais businessman who acted as an investment advisor by Sheikh Hasina and founded the Bangladais Beximco conglomerate, according to the company and real estate documents.
One is a luxury apartment at 17 Grosvenor Square in London, bought in 2010 for 6.5 million pounds sterling, while the other, in Gresham Gardens, in northern London, was acquired for 1.2 million pounds sterling the following year, according to deposits.
Sheikh Rehana, Sheikh Hasina’s sister and the mother of former British Minister of the Tulip Siddiq, lived in the property of Gresham Gardens, according to the files of the Electoral Roll, although it is not clear if it still resides.
“We can confirm that the NCA has obtained freezing orders against property in the 17 Grosvenor Square, London and Gresham Gardens, London, as part of a current civil investigation. We cannot comment more for the moment,” said the NCA.
A freezing order is a court order which prevents an asset from being dissipated.
Salman and Ahmed Rahman are suspected in the embezzlement of the Bangladesh anti-corruption commission, its president Mohammad Abdul Momen told Financial Times.
The properties are held through offshore companies on the island of Man, according to deposits.
A spokesperson for Ahmed Rahman said: “Our client denies any involvement in any alleged reprehensible act in the strongest possible terms. He will of course be committed with any investigation which takes place in the United Kingdom. ”
They added: “It is well known that there are political upheavals in Bangladesh, where many allegations are made against several hundred people. We would expect the British authorities to take this into consideration.”
Sheikh Rehana and Salman Rahman could not be joined to comment.
Sheikh Hasina, who reigned from 2009 to August 2024, was overthrown following street demonstrations led by students against his authoritarian regime. It currently lies in India.
Muhammad Yunus, a night economist, has taken care of an interim government that seeks to reform institutions, such as the police, the media and the judiciary, which, according to him, was captured by his Awami League party.
After last year’s uprising, Yunus appointed Ahsan Mansur, the governor of the Central Bank, to supervise an effort to recover billions of dollars of money which he claims was diverted by people close to the old regime.
The interim government of Yunus has frozen accounts and entered assets belonging to some of these people and works with authorities in the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries to try to recover money.
Supporters of the Awami Evanouie League, whom the Yunus government once prohibited this month, accused the new administration of pursuing political vendettas in its repression against corruption presumed by the old regime.
Siddiq, the niece of Sheikh Hasina and still a Labor MP was involved in the scandal after being appointed in two corruption probes initiated by the new Bangladesh regime.
She denied reprehensible acts, but resigned in January in the midst of warnings that she risked harming the reputation of the British government.
Additional reports by Rafe Uddin
