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A trio of property companies with combined assets of close to £150M have gone into administration, Bisnow can reveal.
Partners from Grant Thornton were appointed administrators to ZTS Properties Ltd, Rukhmila Properties Ltd and New Ventures (London) Ltd on 29 July. They are the latest in a string of companies controlled by former Bangladeshi politician Saifuzzaman Chowdhury to be put into administration.
Chowdhury has been accused of laundering money in UK real estate. He was one of 25 people indicted in a corruption case by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission, Bangladeshi news outlet New Age reported.
The three companies have combined assets of £142M, according to accounts filed at Companies House. ZTS has the largest asset base, at £77M.
The three rented residential firms owe a combined £78M to a variety of banks, the accounts show. Singaporean lender DBS has charges against multiple properties owned by ZTS.
The loans are typically secured against London flats.
Bisnow revealed earlier this year that three other companies controlled by Chowdhury had been put into administration. Together they own £29M of assets.
Last week The Underground, Bisnow’s London newsletter, revealed that Grant Thornton was selling the assets of those companies. A similar strategy with the latest batch of companies would put a much larger portfolio on the market.
Chowdhury had bought up to $500M of UK property, despite a relatively modest ministerial salary. The National Crime Agency has frozen UK assets valued at £170M.
Chowdhury was land minister in the Bangladesh Awami League, one of the country’s two largest political parties. It was overthrown following student-led protests in 2024.
In a report on the administration of the first three companies, the Grant Thornton partners said they are complying with orders from the NCA and that no proceeds from sales would be distributed to sanctioned individuals. The report also says Bangladeshi lender United Commercial Bank is seeking £260M from Chowdhury.
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