Former state minister Tuku’s son Asif owns 4 properties in the UK

SM Asif Shams, former mayor of Bera pourasava in Pabna, has been found to own four properties in the United Kingdom—both in his own name and under a company solely owned by him.

He is the son of former state minister for home affairs and ex–Deputy Speaker of the National Parliament, Shamsul Hoque Tuku.

A Prothom Alo investigation traced ownership records showing that Asif Shams owns a flat at Magellan House beside Queen Mary University in East London, as well as three houses in the city of Newport, Wales—two on South Market Street and one on Potter Street.

According to documents obtained from the UK Land Registry, Asif purchased the two-bedroom Magellan House flat in his own name on 23 August 2013 for £220,000.

Later, he acquired a four-bedroom house on Potter Street, Newport, on 7 February 2018 for £71,000, and two more houses on South Market Street—one on 8 June 2018 for £95,000 and another on 24 January 2020 for £122,000—through a company called Homeward Property Ltd.

Property marketplace Zoopla estimates the current combined market value of these homes to be around £830,000, equivalent to over Tk 136.2 million in Bangladeshi currency.

Information from the UK’s Companies House shows that Homeward Property Ltd, incorporated on 9 September 2016 as a real estate business, lists Asif Shams as its sole director.

Until 6 September this year, his wife, UK Awami League women’s affairs leader Muslima Khatun, was the company secretary before resigning from the post.

Company's house records also show Asif registered another business, Asna Enterprise UK Ltd., on 2 November 2010. He previously served as a director of four now-defunct companies: Holiday Apartment London Ltd., Mementos Events Ltd., Masala Deck Ltd., and Imperial Events (UK) Ltd.

On 28 November 2021, Asif Shams was elected mayor of Bera pourasava under the Awami League’s nomination.

However, in the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission for that election, he concealed details of his UK-based assets and businesses.

His father, barrister Shamsul Hoque Tuku, served as Deputy Speaker of Parliament between 28 August 2022 and 5 August last year. Before that, he was state minister for power, energy, and later home affairs.

During the Awami League’s tenure, Asif was chairman of Vision Tel Ltd., a VoIP company. The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) had filed a case against Vision Tel and three other firms for evading Tk 1.91 billion in revenue.

On 23 September 2021, the Dhaka General Certificate Officer’s Court issued an arrest warrant against Asif in the case. For 33 months, the warrant went unexecuted.

He later surrendered to court and secured bail on 4 July 2024. Shortly afterward, he left the country. It remains unclear how he managed to travel abroad despite the pending charges.

Asif Shams has since been living in London. On Monday, 15 September, he was seen participating in the “Rally for Bangladesh” programme organised by the UK Awami League at Trafalgar Square.

Efforts to reach him for comment on the sources of his UK wealth proved unsuccessful.

He did not answer calls to his mobile phone, nor did he respond to WhatsApp messages. Contacted separately, his wife Muslima Khatun declined to comment, citing ill health.