UK bank seeks bankruptcy order against ex-Minister Saifuzzaman

A Bangladesh-based bank has petitioned the London High Court to declare former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury bankrupt, following the UK National Crime Agency’s (NCA) seizure of assets worth £185 million linked to him and his family.

Court documents filed late last week show that South Bangla Agriculture and Commerce (SBAC) Bank PLC has brought the bankruptcy petition against Saifuzzaman, who was widely regarded as a close associate of ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

The move comes after the NCA last year seized 342 properties linked to Saifuzzaman  Chowdhury and members of his family. He is also facing money-laundering and corruption investigations in Bangladesh.

The former land minister had secured financing for more than 175 real estate deals through MFS, a now-defunct short-term property lender.

Meanwhile, ZTS Properties Limited, the holding company that was primarily responsible for managing Chowdhury’s UK property portfolio, is currently under court-supervised administration proceedings amid the NCA investigation.

The latest bankruptcy petition adds another legal challenge for the former minister, whose extensive UK property holdings have come under scrutiny from law-enforcement authorities in both Britain and Bangladesh.