The Bashundhara family bought 26 properties for £62 million (almost 1000 crore taka) in the UK through alleged money laundering.
The crown jewel of the Bashundhara’s real estate portfolio is 14 Wycombe Square, a 5,000 square feet property in central London, valued at on an average £10 million.
Attained on November 21, 2018 through a company named Austino registered in the British Virgin Islands with an office in Dubai, the property is owned by Safwan Sobhan, the vice chairman of Bashundhara Group.
Bashundhara family’s alleged money laundering fuels nearly 1000 crore taka (£62 million)UK property inebriation.
Bashundhara family’s alleged money laundering fuels nearly 1000 crore taka (£62 million)UK property inebriation When Sayem Sobhan Anvir, Managing Director of Bashundhara Group, was smeared in the rape and murder case of college student Mosarrat Jahan Munia in April 2021, it quickly became a hot topic on Bangladeshi social media.
One meme that circulated widely suggested, “If anything happens to Anvir, people will lose faith in the power of money.”
However, the influence of money prevailed, as the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) submitted a probe report a year and a half later that sought Anvir’s exoneration, claiming they found no connection between him and Munia’s murder.
Bashundhara Group is among Bangladesh’s largest business agglomerates, having entered the exalted billion-dollar club in September last year, joining other major players like Square Group and Pran Group.
While its several portfolio spans from gold to bitumen production, Bashundhara’s primary strength lies in real estate, a sector founded by Ahmed Akbar Sobhan in the late 1980s.
Apartment at Waterfront Drive In just three decades, properties in Bashundhara-branded areas have become some of the most in demands and expensive in Dhaka.
In the face of numerous allegations of land grabbing and river encroachment against the group, similar to Anvir’s case, Bashundhara has consistently avoided legal response.
Following Sheikh Hasina’s fall due to a mass uprising, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) launched extensive investigation into Bashundhara’s alleged land grabbing and unlawful filling of public properties, including canals, wetlands, and cemeteries.
This CID inquiry also includes money laundering accuse against Bashundhara Group’s Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and Managing Director Anvir, accordant to many sources within the CID who spoke to Bangla Outlook.
While no proof of money laundering by Sobhan or Anvir has been made public, an investigation by Bangla Outlook uncovered a list of 26 properties valued at nearly 1000 crore taka (60 million pound sterling) in the United Kingdom.
Apartment at Wycombe Square This increment questions for investigators pertaining potent money laundering, especially since there’s no record of such significant funds being transferred with central bank applause, and Bashundhara Group has no business interests outside Bangladesh.
Luxurious UK properties
The crown jewel of the Bashundhara scions’ real estate portfolio is 14 Wycombe Square in central London, valued at approximately 158 crore taka (10 million pounds).
This freehold property–any estate which is free from the hold of any entity besides the owner– spans nearly 5,000 square feet and is owned outright, free from any liability.
Attained on November 21, 2018, through a company named Austino Limited—likely a shell company registered in the British Virgin Islands with an office in Dubai—the property is owned by Safwan Sobhan, the vice chairman of Bashundhara Group and the younger brother of Anvir.
The second most valuable property held by Bashundhara’s scions is Wentwood on Wellington Avenue, Virginia Water, Surrey, UK. This freehold property was bought on August 9, 2021, for about 130 crore taka (8.34 million pounds).
Property map in different places in London This property was acquired through Golden Oak Venture Limited, another shell company registered in the British Virgin Islands, with a corresponding office at Suntec Tower in Singapore.
The registered owner is Shafiat Sobhan, another vice chairman of Bashundhara Group and son of Ahmed Akbar Sobhan.
The third most expensive holdings are two apartments on the 28th floor of 1 Waterfront Drive, a luxury building in central London. One apartment was bought for nearly 105 crore taka (6.23 million pounds), while the other cost around 92 crore taka (5.61 million pounds).
Both apartments were bought through Foxglove Enterprises Ltd and Red Pine Trading Limited, registered in the British Virgin Islands with offices at Suntec Tower, Singapore. Shafiat Sobhan is the owner of both companies.
Next in line is Marbourne House, located at 56 Ennismore Gardens, London, another freehold property. This property was bought on October 31, 2005, for about 78 crore taka (4.95 million pounds).
Apartment at Marbourne House The registered owner of this property is Asimina Consulting Inc. , also a British Virgin Islands company with an office in Suntec Tower, Singapore, owned by Sonia Ferdoushi Sobhan, wife of Sadat Sobhan Tanvir, the eldest son of Ahmed Akbar Sobhan.
Bangla Outlook discovered that over the past 15 years, 21 additional residential properties spreading from 8
What makes these purchases indicative of money laundering? Sources at Bangladesh Bank confirmed to Bangla Outlook that but also the group neither any of its family members had reportedly applied for the legal transfer of huge amounts of money out of Bangladesh. An unidentified CID official was mentioned in an early September report in The Daily Star, claiming that Bashundhara Group had borrowed as much as Tk 42,000 crore from the nation’s scheduled banks by inflating the appraised value of land purchases, which were actually worth Tk 20–25 lakh per bigha, as opposed to Tk 3 crore per katha.
A significant amount of these cash, according to the CID official, appears to have been transferred to Dubai, Singapore, Cyprus, London, Malaysia, and other nations.
Apartment at Waterfront Drive Particularly, Ahmed Akbar Sobhan’s eldest son, Sadat Sobhan, coordinates the Bashundhara Group headquarters in Singapore. Sonia Sobhan has claimed citizenship from Saint Kitts, while Safwan and Shafiat Sobhan are recognised as Cypriots, based on property getting records. All members of the Bashundhara Group have stated additional nationalities.
To obtain citizenship in Cyprus through investment, a minimum of two million euros must be invested in the country.
The exact sums that Safwan, Shafiat, and Sonia paid for their foreign passports and nationalities were not verified by Bangla Outlook, but it was found that Sayem Sobhan Anvir and Director Yasha Sobhan invested 3 million and 2 million euros, accordingly, in buying passports for Slovakia and Cyprus.
The investigation found out that Anvir serves as a director of a Slovakian company named Wordera Corporation (ICO Number: 47955414), which was established on November 5, 2014. Sayem Sobhan Anvir and Sabrina Sobhan are partners in the company, which has a capital of 1 million euros.
Properties in different areas of London Bangladesh Bank has confirmed that it does not permit any transactions for investments in foreign citizenship. There are no legitimate means to invest abroad without the bank’s approval, leading to the conclusion that this situation may be classified as money laundering.
In July 2020, an Al Jazeera investigation revealed that four individuals, including the former president of Cyprus, were implicated in corruption related to the citizenship by investment program.
The study detailed how these people made it possible for criminals from both Russia and China to be illegally granted citizenship, but it makes no mention of individuals from Bangladesh.
Bangla Outlook attempted to reach several members of the Bashundhara family, including Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and Sayem Sobhan Anvir, but was unable to make contact or obtain their responses despite numerous attempts.
Global anti-graft body probes into Bashundhara
The organization’s UK chapter issued a private letter titled “Suspicious money related to Bangladeshi investors in the UK property market,” which implies the organisation is investigating into Bashundhara’s UK real estate holdings and the source of funding for the portfolio.
Apartment at Wellington Avenue The memo said they have identified 26 properties in the UK belonging to the Bashindhara family, worth around £60 million, with the majority of these acquired during Sheikh Hasina’s time as Prime Minister.
“All of these properties were bought using offshore companies, meaning they were owned secretly until the UK introduced transparency around the owners of overseas companies holding UK property,” said the memo.
The anti-graft body’s memo further stated that 15 of the properties have been financed with loans from Bendura Bank AG, based in Switzerland.
The memo said, “The timing of some of these mortgages happened after the original purchases of the properties; however, it is unclear if these represent the family refinancing or mortgaging the properties for the first time after buying contributes in the holding firms due to the lack of transparency around company ownership.”
“All purchases took place during the time the family were being scrutinized for illegal land acquisition and corruption, meaning that the properties may represent the proceeds of crime,” the memo added.
The memo also pointed out that Ahmed Akbar’s children and daughter in law have all acquired alternative citizenship. Report on suspicious funds of Bashundhara Group The memo stated that a leaked report on the acquisition of Cypriot citizenship by investment, authored by Myron Nicolatos, the chair of the Cypriot government inquiry into the scheme, highlights a suspicious transfer made by Sonia Ferdowshi Sobhan on behalf of herself and her husband, Sadat Sobhan, which bypassed banking checks.
Leaked documents from the citizenship by investment firm Henley and Partners reveal that Sonia and Sadat’s application for citizenship was rejected. Additionally, Sonia’s Companies House profile indicates Kittian citizenship, suggesting she may have also been rejected from the Cypriot scheme.
The ant-graft body’s memo also reported that the Bashundhara group profited significantly during the Sheikh Hasina Government, voicing support for her and the Awami League.
“The Sobhan family were first investigated for amassing unexplained wealth in 2008 by Bangladesh’s anti-corruption bureau. The allegations extended to bribery of public officials – specifically the then Home Office Minister – in relation to the murder investigation into a Bashundhara group official.”
As an outcome, Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, Shafiat Sobhan Sanvir, and Sadaat Sobhan were first suspected of corruption. In the end, in 2011, there was inadequate proof to accuse them of murder. The report did point out that more accusations of corruption surfaced in relation to this choice.
Source: Bangla outlook
