London flat linked to AL minister frozen
A London apartment worth nearly £15 million, allegedly linked to embezzlement, corruption, fraud and money laundering, has been frozen by the UK High Court as part of an investigation into the source of funds used to acquire it, the Financial Times (FT) reports.
The property, near Regent’s Park, belongs to a company linked to Anisuzzaman Chowdhury Ronny, brother of Bangladesh’s former Awami League (AL) land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed.
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) obtained the freezing order this week after Anisuzzaman failed to explain the origin of the money used to purchase the apartment, according to the report.
In a witness statement submitted to the court, an NCA investigator described the arrangements surrounding the property’s ownership as “deliberately opaque” and said the agency suspected that it had been acquired through unlawful conduct, including “embezzlement, corruption, fraud and money laundering”.
At a hearing on Thursday, the court was told that Anisuzzaman had been served with an unexplained wealth order last year, requiring him to demonstrate that the apartment had been purchased with legitimate funds.
Under UK anti-corruption legislation, failure to provide a satisfactory explanation can create a legal presumption that the property was obtained through unlawful conduct.
The investigator’s statement also referred to forged signatures attributed to former US president Richard Nixon, former British prime minister David Cameron and US singer Chris Brown on documents associated with the arrangements.
The investigator cited their use as evidence of what was described as a “cavalier” attitude towards fraud.
According to the NCA, Anisuzzaman transferred the company holding the apartment’s title to a third party in September 2025 for a nominal £1.
The agency alleged that the transaction involved a structure designed to return control of the property to his wife and two daughters.
UK Land Registry records show that Anisuzzaman acquired the Regent’s Park apartment in 2023 through his company, Ronny 42 Limited, for £12.4 million.
The company was subsequently renamed PNN UK Properties after its transfer to the third party, the High Court in London was told.
In written submissions, NCA lawyers described the transfer as “nothing more than an arrangement of convenience”, allegedly intended to facilitate the refinancing of loans secured against the apartment from Singapore’s DBS Bank.
Although the stated price for the company’s shares was £1, the agency said the total value of the share sale was £14.95 million.
It added that the DBS loan had not been refinanced and that the bank was pursuing repossession of the apartment following a loan default.
Justice Karen Steyn ruled that there was a good arguable case that the property represented the proceeds of crime and granted the freezing order.
She also permitted an exception allowing landlord possession proceedings to be brought.
Anisuzzaman’s solicitors told the court that they did not oppose the freezing order.
Speaking to the FT, Anisuzzaman said he had decided, on legal advice, not to contest the NCA’s application, but denied any unlawful conduct.
He said he would vigorously defend any civil recovery proceedings brought by the agency and demonstrate that the allegations against him were untrue.
He also rejected claims that he had concealed the property’s ownership, saying it had been “transparently disclosed” to the NCA. He said he would “thoroughly defend any defamatory statement against my wife and children who have nothing to do with this”.
The NCA investigator’s witness statement, dated July, said Anisuzzaman was in the UK and had used the apartment as his principal residence.
The case comes amid wider UK investigations into overseas assets linked to Saifuzzaman, who served as Bangladesh’s land minister, and members of his family.
According to the FT, they accumulated a property portfolio worth $295 million between 1992 and 2024.
After the Sheikh Hasina-led government was ousted in August 2024, the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus sought to trace overseas assets it alleged had been acquired with funds taken out of Bangladesh during her rule.
In June 2025, the NCA froze properties linked to Saifuzzaman worth about £185 million as part of an ongoing civil investigation.
The agency also obtained an unexplained wealth order against the former minister, his wife and associated companies that month.
Saifuzzaman had taken out hundreds of mortgages from British bridging-loan specialist Market Financial Solutions, which collapsed this year amid allegations of fraud.
Anisuzzaman previously told the FT that he had “no business relation” with his brother.
