Photo : Collected

DHAKA, May 24, 2025 (BSS)- The UK’s serious and organised crime agency has frozen luxury London property worth about £90m belonging to two men linked to the deposed ruler of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, according to The Guardian newspaper.

The newspaper in a report published on May 23 said the development came after mounting pressure on the UK to assist Bangladesh in tracing assets linked to the former regime.

The Guardian said the National Crime Agency (NCA) obtained nine freezing orders under which Ahmed Shayan Rahman and his cousin Ahmed Shahryar Rahman were prevented from selling the property, including apartments in London’s Grosvenor Square.

Their named also came in a Guardian investigation into UK assets owned by allies of Bangladesh’s former autocratic ruler Sheikh Hasina.

All properties are owned via companies in the British Virgin Islands, Isle of Man or Jersey, according to Companies House records, and were acquired for prices ranging from £1.2m to £35.5m, The Guardian said.

The Rahmans are the son and nephew, respectively of Salman F Rahman, a wealthy businessman who was arrested while allegedly attempting to flee during the student-led revolution that toppled Sheikh Hasina last year.

Salman F Rahman, who is facing corruption charges in Bangladesh, was Hasina’s adviser on private industry and investment and was seen by many in the country as the most influential figure in the regime.

His son and nephew’s properties featured in a joint investigation between the Guardian and the campaign group Transparency International last year, which revealed £400m worth of property owned by allies of Sheikh Hasina.

The properties frozen by the NCA include one in Gresham Gardens, North London.

The Financial Times first reported freezing orders on two of the properties bought for £7.7m. and Sheikh Rehana, sister of Sheikh Hasina and also the mother of the former UK City minister Tulip Siddiq has lived at the property.

Duncan Hames, director of policy at Transparency International UK urged UK law enforcement to continue their inquiries and freeze all suspect assets without delay.

An NCA spokesperson said: “We can confirm that the NCA has secured freezing orders against a number of properties as part of an ongoing civil investigation.”

Investigations by the interim government of Bangladesh into the former regime have also resulted in authorities there issuing an arrest warrant for Tulip Siddiq, who stepped back as City minister in the light of the allegations. She has denied any wrongdoing.

The Guardian has approached lawyers for the Rahmans and Beximco, the family corporate empire founded by Salman Rahman, for comment.

A spokesperson for Ahmed Shayan Rahman earlier told the Financial Times that their client denied any involvement in any alleged wrongdoing in the strongest possible terms.  They will of course engage with any investigation which takes place in the UK, the spokesperson said.

 
“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,” they added.