Court orders seizure of ex-Land Minister Saifuzzaman’s Singapore property

A Dhaka court has ordered the seizure of immovable assets and freezing of bank accounts held in Singapore by former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury and individuals and entities linked to him over allegations of money laundering.

The court also authorised the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to send a formal request to the relevant Singaporean authorities seeking legal assistance in securing the assets and related evidence.

Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Mohammad Shahjahan Kabir passed the order on Tuesday (September 8) following an ACC petition filed by Mohammad Mashiur Rahman, deputy director and head of the investigation team.

According to the petition, a nine-member joint task force comprising the ACC, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and National Board of Revenue (NBR) is investigating allegations that Saifuzzaman and his associates laundered large sums of money abroad.

Based on intelligence gathered during the investigation, the task force identified eight bank accounts, a directorship in a Singaporean company and high-value property linked to Saifuzzaman and his associates in Singapore, the petition said.

Official records cited in the petition show three savings and investment accounts jointly held by Saifuzzaman and his wife, Rukmila Zaman, at Singapore’s HSBC.

Records also show accounts and deposits with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, Citibank and DBS Bank, along with investments linked to Aramit Properties Ltd, ZTS Properties Ltd and New Ventures (London) Ltd.

The petition said Saifuzzaman served as a director of Singapore-registered Jasa Ocean Pte Ltd from March 15, 2011, to May 3, 2019.

It also identified a luxury property in Singapore directly owned by Saifuzzaman that was purchased for S$1.612 million on June 7, 2019.

The task force reportedly received confidential information that the accused were attempting to quickly transfer or sell their Singapore-based properties. Such transfers could cause substantial financial losses to the state, the petition said.

The ACC therefore sought permission to send a Mutual Legal Assistance Request (MLAR) to Singapore’s judicial and administrative authorities to secure the properties, freeze the bank accounts and obtain relevant evidence. The court granted the request.