Former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed. File Photo

CHATTOGRAM, Sept 21, 2025 (BSS) - The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) here today seized 23 sacks of files and documents linked to massive corrupt activities and illegal assets of fugitive ex-AL land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed from the Sikdarpara of Shikalbaha union under Karnaphuli upazila in the district. 

Subel Ahmed, the ACC’ Deputy Director at Chattogram Integrated Office said that the seized documents are believed to be strong evidences of unbridled corruption including money laundering carried out by ex-MP of AL Javed, his wife Rukhmila Zaman and other family members.

An ACC team confiscated the documents following the confession made by Abdul Aziz and Utpal Paul, two assistant general managers (AGMs) of Javed's family business establishment- Aramit Group, who were recently arrested on September 17 from the city’s Agrabad area. 

Aziz and Utpal are now under five-day remand as per the court's directives. Two laptops and two mobile phones, seized from them, have helped to trace out the whereabouts of huge documents recovered today. 

According to ACC sources, Utpal is the mastermind behind the money laundering process from Bangladesh to Dubai and then to various countries, including the UK, on behalf of Javed's family. 

Abdul Aziz, as the AGM of Aramit Thai Aluminum, was responsible for managing and supervising Javed's local assets including buying and selling. 

Md. Mashiur Rahman, the deputy director attached with ACC head office has filed a case at ACC’s  Chattogram District Integrated Office-1 on July 24 last against Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed, his wife, siblings, and 31 other individuals, including business officers and employees.
 
 According to the case statement, Javed, wife Rukhmila and his other family members opened five fictitious business entities in the names of Aramit officials. One of these entities applied for a 'time loan' from United Commercial Bank (UCBL) to import wheat, chickpeas, turmeric, and peas. The loan of Tk 25 crore was approved and transferred to different account numbers opened in the names of the other fictitious entities in the same bank. The money was then laundered.

Additionally, a business entity called Imperial Trading, owned by Abdul Aziz, received some of the embezzled funds from UCBL.

 ACC reported that an embezzlement case involving bank funds through fraud occurred in 2019-20 during Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed's tenure as a minister. Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed, also son of former veteran AL leader late Akhtaruzzaman Chowdhury Babu Meah and close relative of Saiful Alam Masud of S Alam Group held the position of State Minister for Land from 2014 to 2018 and then served as the minister of the same ministry from 2019 to 2023. 

Prior to the 2024 parliamentary elections, he faced allegations of accumulating significant wealth in overseas countries. 

 According to sources, Javed left for UK with his wife and family shortly before the fall of Awami League government during the student-mass Uprising on August 5 last year. 

An initial investigation revealed that the ex-minister has amazed huge illegal assets not only in the United Kingdom, the United States but also other Asian countries like Singapore, Dubai, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Cambodia.