The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has frozen nearly £90 million worth of luxury London property owned by two individuals linked to Bangladesh’s deposed ruler, according to a report by British daily The Guardian.
The move follows increasing pressure on UK authorities to assist Bangladesh in tracing assets allegedly tied to the previous regime ousted in a mass uprising in August last year.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel. The Guardian, citing official records, said the NCA secured nine property freezing orders against Ahmed Shayan Rahman and his cousin, Ahmed Shahryar Rahman.
The orders bar the two from selling several high-value properties, including apartments in London’s exclusive Grosvenor Square. The Rahmans were previously named in a Guardian investigation into UK assets owned by associates of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the report said.
The properties, held through offshore entities based in the British Virgin Islands, Isle of Man, and Jersey, were purchased for sums ranging between £1.2 million and £35.5 million, according to Companies House records.
The two are the son and nephew of Salman F Rahman, a prominent businessman and former adviser to Hasina on private industry and investment. He was arrested while allegedly trying to flee Bangladesh during the student-led uprising that led to the regime’s downfall last year. Salman is currently facing corruption charges, The Guardian said.
A joint investigation by the Guardian and Transparency International last year found that Hasina’s allies owned UK properties worth £400 million.
One of the frozen assets includes a property in Gresham Gardens, where Sheikh Rehana—Hasina’s sister and the mother of former UK City minister Tulip Siddiq, has reportedly lived, according to the Financial Times.
Tulip Siddiq, who stepped down as minister amid the controversy, is now the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the interim Bangladeshi government. She has denied any wrongdoing, the report said.
The NCA said the action is part of an ongoing civil investigation.