UK court freezes £15mn London flat in NCA money laundering probe

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UK court freezes London flat

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UK High Court granted the NCA a freezing order on a £15mn Regent’s Park flat over alleged money laundering linked to Anisuzzaman 'Ronny' Chowdhury.
The order follows findings of a deliberately opaque ownership structure, a £1 transfer in September 2025, and Chowdhury's inability to account for purchase funds.
The probe is part of a wider NCA investigation, including the June 2025 freezing of £185mn in assets linked to ex-minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury and related unexplained wealth orders.

Court order follows ownership and funding scrutiny

As reported by the Financial Times, the UK National Crime Agency won the freezing order this week after telling the High Court that the flat was linked to suspected embezzlement, corruption, fraud and money laundering. The agency said Anisuzzaman "Ronny" Chowdhury, the beneficial owner, did not account for the source of the money used by his company to acquire the property.

In a witness statement presented by the NCA, an investigator described the ownership structure as deliberately opaque and said a September 2025 transaction transferred the company holding the title to a third party for a nominal £1. The agency argued that the arrangement was designed to disguise Chowdhury’s continued control by ultimately returning it to his wife and two daughters.

Mrs Justice Karen Steyn ruled there was a good arguable case that the apartment represented proceeds of crime and granted the freezing order. She also allowed a carve-out so landlord possession proceedings can be brought.

Chowdhury’s solicitors did not oppose the order in court. Chowdhury said he has not engaged in unlawful conduct, denied concealing ownership and said he will vigorously defend any future civil recovery proceedings and any defamatory statement concerning his wife and children.

Wider Bangladesh-linked asset investigation expands

The case sits within a broader UK investigation into assets linked to Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, Anisuzzaman Chowdhury’s brother and Bangladesh’s former land minister. The NCA in June 2025 froze properties linked to the former minister worth about £185mn and also obtained unexplained wealth orders against him, his wife and related companies.

According to the court account, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury and relatives built a property portfolio worth about $295mn between 1992 and August 2024, when the government of Sheikh Hasina collapsed. After Hasina was deposed, the interim administration led by economist Muhammad Yunus sought to trace overseas assets it claimed were purchased with money taken out of Bangladesh during her rule.

Land Registry records show Anisuzzaman Chowdhury bought the Regent’s Park apartment through Ronny 42 Limited in 2023 for £12.4mn. The High Court heard that the company was later renamed PNN UK Properties, while NCA lawyers said the £1 share transfer was merely an arrangement of convenience tied to an attempted refinancing of loans against the property from Singapore’s DBS Bank. The agency added that the refinancing did not complete and that DBS is pursuing repossession after a loan default.

Our earlier article on Equites Property Fund focused on the REIT’s accelerated exit from the UK, including the £200.5 million Aviva portfolio sale, and how this supported a higher interim distribution and lower leverage. We also noted that the proceeds were being redirected into South African logistics assets, alongside efforts to maintain FY27 guidance and strengthen funding capacity.

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