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Three London residential property companies controlled by a former Bangladeshi politician accused of laundering money in UK real estate have gone into administration, Bisnow can reveal.
Partners from Grant Thornton were appointed administrators to Sadakat Properties Limited, Zaria Properties Limited and Zeba Properties Limited on 22 May. All three are ultimately controlled by Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, Companies House records show.
Chowdhury was land minister in the Bangladesh Awami League party, one of the country’s two largest political parties. It was overthrown following student-led protests in 2024.
The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist who pioneered the concept of microfinance, has launched investigations into the former government regarding the laundering of billions of pounds of public money outside of the country.
Al-Jazeera reported in 2024 that Chowdhury had bought more than $500M of property assets around the world, including more than 360 homes in the UK. Chowdhury’s bank accounts were frozen while investigations were ongoing, according to the outlet.
Chowdhury did not respond to requests for comment about the administrations. He has previously said investigations into his finances were a politically motivated witch hunt.
“I can confirm that insolvency practitioners from Grant Thornton UK Advisory and Tax LLP were appointed as joint administrators of Sadakat Properties Limited, Zaria Properties Limited and Zeba Properties Limited (the entities) by the qualifying floating charge holder on 22 May 2025, following a default in respect of their loan facilities,” a spokesman for Grant Thornton told Bisnow in a statement.
“The entities own and manage residential properties within central London. The administrators will be working with the properties’ managing agents to communicate with tenants who may be affected by the appointment.”
Companies House records show that each of the companies in administration has an outstanding charge held by British Arab Commercial Bank.
The three companies have investment properties acquired for a combined £37M, accounts for the vehicles show. Their combined debt is £13M, according to the accounts.
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