FBI sends US property records on ex-minister Saifuzzaman to ACC

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has sent an investigative report and property records concerning former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury and his wife, Rukmila Zaman, to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) as part of an investigation into their overseas assets.

ACC Deputy Director (Public Relations) Md Akhtarul Islam confirmed the development on Monday.

According to a letter from the ACC’s Money Laundering-2 branch, the US Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) received Bangladesh’s Mutual Legal Assistance Request (MLAR) concerning the couple on 19 May 2025.

Bangladesh sought information on their US bank accounts, businesses and properties and requested assistance in freezing and confiscating assets suspected to be proceeds of crime.

In response, the FBI sent an FD-302 investigative report, property records and related documents on a CD to the ACC.

However, the US response is not yet complete. American authorities will separately provide information on other records requested by Bangladesh, while the request for seizure and forfeiture of the couple’s US assets is also being handled separately.

The ACC has forwarded the original records received from the FBI to the relevant authorities for further action.

The investigation is part of Bangladesh’s wider efforts to trace and recover assets allegedly linked to Saifuzzaman and his family abroad. Bangladeshi authorities have previously identified properties and business interests linked to the former minister in the US, UK, UAE and several other countries.

The ACC has also been informed that a separate response will be provided on the asset-freezing and confiscation component of Bangladesh’s request.