Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has secured freezing orders on two properties in London that belong to the son of a close associate of former Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Hasina, amid allegations that her administration was involved in embezzling public funds, reports Financial Times (FT).
The properties are owned by Ahmed Shayan Fazlur Rahman, the son of Salman F Rahman, a Bangladeshi businessman who acted as an investment adviser to Sheikh Hasina and founded Bangladeshi conglomerate Beximco, according to company and property filings.
One is a luxury apartment at 17 Grosvenor Square in London, which was purchased in 2010 for £6.5 million, while the other, at Gresham Gardens in north London, was acquired for £1.2 million the following year, the filings show.
Sheikh Rehana, the sister of Sheikh Hasina and mother of former UK City minister Tulip Siddiq, has lived at the Gresham Gardens property, according to UK electoral roll records, though it is not clear whether she still resides there.
“We can confirm that the NCA has secured freezing orders against property in 17 Grosvenor Square, London, and Gresham Gardens, London, as part of an ongoing civil investigation. We cannot comment further at this time,” said the NCA.
A freezing order is a court order that prevents an asset from being dissipated.
Salman and Shayan are suspects in embezzlement investigations by the Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission, its chair Mohammad Abdul Momen told the Financial Times.
The properties are owned through offshore companies in the Isle of Man, the filings show.
A spokesperson for Shayan said, “Our client denies any involvement in any alleged wrongdoing in the strongest possible terms. He will of course engage with any investigation which takes place in the UK.”
They added, “It is well known that there is political upheaval in Bangladesh, where numerous allegations are being made against many hundreds of individuals. We would expect the UK authorities to take this into consideration.”
Sheikh Rehana and Salman Rahman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Sheikh Hasina, who ruled from 2009 until August 2024, was overthrown following student-led street protests against her authoritarian rule. She currently resides in India.
Prof Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel prize-winning economist, took charge of an interim government that is seeking to reform institutions, such as the police, media, and the judiciary, that he claims were captured by the Hasina-led party, Awami League.
After last year’s uprising Yunus named Ahsan H Mansur, the central bank governor, to oversee an effort to claw back billions of dollars’ worth of money he claims was embezzled by people close to the old regime.
Yunus’ interim government has frozen accounts and seized assets owned by some of these people and, is working with authorities in the US, the UK, and other countries to attempt to recover money.
Supporters of the fascist Awami League, which the Yunus government formerly banned this month, have accused the new administration of pursuing political vendettas in its crackdown on alleged corruption by the old regime.
Tulip Siddiq, the niece of Sheikh Hasina and still a Labour MP, became embroiled in the scandal after being named in two corruption probes initiated by the new Bangladesh regime.
She has denied wrongdoing, but quit in January amid warnings that she risked damaging the reputation of the British government.
Bd-pratidin English/ Afia
