Staff Reporter :
The United States has said that they are well-aware of the reports of Bangladesh lawmaker Saifuzzaman Chowdhury’s amassing wealth in the US and UK and are closely monitoring the situation.
Mathew Miller, a US spokesperson on February 20 during a press briefing in Washington DC, also called upon the Bangladesh government to address allegations of corruption among elected officials.
“We are aware of these reports and encourage the Government of Bangladesh to ensure that all elected officials comply with the country’s laws and financial regulations,” he said.
The spokesperson came up with the response when a journalist sought his attention to a Bloomberg report which revealed that Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, former land minister, is alleged to have built an empire in the UK and US valued at 200 million pounds sterling, equivalent to one percent of the country’s foreign reserve.
“This is just one case among many. How is the US addressing this matter to hold the government accountable and combat corruption globally?” asked the journalist.
In response, Miller stated that they were well aware of the allegations and were closely monitoring it.
In a recent Bloomberg report, allegations of corruption involving Bangladeshi lawmaker Saifuzzaman Chowdhury have come to light, raising concerns about transparency and accountability within the government.
Bloomberg also identified at least five properties in Manhattan in the USA belonging to Saifuzzaman, bought for a total of about $6 million between 2018 and 2020, according to municipal property records.
The revelations surrounding Chowdhury’s alleged financial empire in foreign countries have sparked widespread criticism and calls for action to combat corruption within the Bangladeshi government.
The Bloomberg report said that in a pre-election declaration of his interests in December, Saifuzzaman listed his total assets at about $2.4 million and those of his wife, Rukhmila Zaman, at about $993,000.
He did not include his UK property holdings in the declaration of assets in Bangladesh. His 2022-23 salary as a minister of state is listed at about £10,000.
Bloomberg talked to Mezbaul Haque, a Bangladesh Bank spokesperson, who, without commenting specifically on Saifuzzaman, said: “While residing in Bangladesh, there is no provision for an individual to accumulate wealth abroad… As a general rule, we do not permit individuals to do so.”
Saifuzzaman falls into the category of a “politically exposed person (PEP),” as defined in the UK’s 2017 anti-money laundering legislation. It puts the onus on estate agents, lenders, property lawyers, and others involved in business transactions in the UK to have procedures in place to identify PEPs.
Although these individuals can engage in business transactions such as buying property, their involvement should attract extra scrutiny.
Bloomberg approached the companies named in its story, including financial services and legal firms involved in the property purchases for the Saifuzzaman-owned companies.