News Desk

The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) has frozen almost £90 million of luxury London property belonging to Salman F Rahman's son, Ahmed Shayan Rahman, and his cousin, Ahmed Shahryar Rahman, reports The Guardian.

In a development that comes after mounting pressure on the UK to assist Bangladesh in tracing assets linked to the former regime, the National Crime Agency (NCA) obtained nine freezing orders, official records show, according to The Guardian report.

The orders prevent them from selling property, including apartments in London's Grosvenor Square.

The pair were named in a Guardian investigation into UK assets owned by allies of Bangladesh's former autocratic ruler, Sheikh Hasina.

All properties are owned via companies in the British Virgin Islands, Isle of Man or Jersey, according to Companies House records, and were acquired for prices ranging from £1.2 million to £35.5 million.

Earlier on 22 May, the Financial Times reported that NCA obtained freezing orders on two London properties owned by Ahmed Shayan Fazlur Rahman, son of Salman F Rahman, who is currently in jail in Dhaka

The properties are a luxury apartment at 17 Grosvenor Square in London, which was purchased in 2010 for £6.5 million and another at Gresham Gardens in north London, which was acquired for £1.2 million the following year, the filings show. Sheikh Rehana, the sister of Sheikh Hasina and mother of former UK City minister Tulip Siddiq, has lived at the Gresham Gardens property, according to UK electoral roll records, though it is not clear whether she still resides there, the report said. "We can confirm that the NCA has secured freezing orders against property in 17 Grosvenor Square, London, and Gresham Gardens, London, as part of an ongoing civil investigation. We cannot comment further at this time," the NCA told the Financial Times.

Salman and Ahmed Rahman are suspects in embezzlement investigations by the Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission, its chair Mohammad Abdul Momen told the Financial Times.

The properties are owned through offshore companies in the Isle of Man, the filings show.

A spokesperson for Ahmed Rahman said: "Our client denies any involvement in any alleged wrongdoing in the strongest possible terms. He will of course engage with any investigation which takes place in the UK."

They added: "It is well known that there is political upheaval in Bangladesh, where numerous allegations are being made against many hundreds of individuals. We would expect the UK authorities to take this into consideration."

Salman F Rahman was arrested from the capital's Sadarghat area as he was trying to flee the capital along with former law minister Anisul Huq through the waterways on 13 August.