Desk Report,
Housing tycoon moves from Raozan, Chittagong to Ajman, questions over source of funds
A part of the real estate empire built by expatriate Jasim Uddin in Ajman, United Arab EmiratesPhoto: Prothom Alo
Housing tycoon moves from Raozan, Chittagong to Ajman, questions over source of funds
Jasim Uddin from Raozan, Chittagong has built a real estate empire in Ajman, United Arab Emirates. Once he used to trade in used car parts in the Middle East. Then he started buying land. He built and sold the buildings to elite buyers, most of whom are Bangladeshi buyers.
This information was obtained from the office of Yunus Real Estate, founded in the name of Jasim’s father in Ajman. The name of the company was found in the relevant government office there. Expatriates do not have much information about Jasim. However, questions have suddenly arisen about his huge investment in the housing sector.
There is no information from the Bangladesh Bank that Jasim has taken any approval to send money from Bangladesh for investment. However, there is talk that some influential Bangladeshis have invested in land in the Middle East through him. Because, according to the new immigration policy of the Middle East, if you invest 65 million taka, you can get a 10-year renewable residence permit. The information of the investor is completely confidential in the United Arab Emirates.
There was already a trend of Bangladeshis buying land and flats in modern cities of the Middle East, and this trend has increased after the new policy that came into effect in 2019.
Information about Jasim’s investment in Ajman was found two years ago. Various information about Jasim has been found by searching in the United Arab Emirates and Raojan, Chittagong.
February 2023. While walking along a road in the industrial area of Ajman, a state in the United Arab Emirates, I saw rows of beautiful houses. I counted 26 houses, all of the same design. I got out of the car with two expatriates. Many houses had signboards for rent or sale hanging in front of them. In front of one house, I saw a signboard of Yunus Real Estate. An employee who introduced himself as Obaidur at this office said, “Our sir is Bangladeshi. Jasim sir from Raojan, Chittagong is the owner.”
While walking along the road in the industrial area of Ajman, the houses that I saw had the name JR Residence written in front of them. At the Yunus Real Estate office, we were shown a ‘catalog’ of flats in various buildings of JR Residence. The buildings have various facilities. Yunus Real Estate officials also said that there are good schools and shopping malls nearby. They said that many Bangladeshis have bought flats there.
There are several other buildings in Azman Yunus Real Estate. A Bangladeshi who works in the area doing home delivery of food said that these houses belong to Jasim from Bangladesh. Because of so many houses, the area has been named after him by word of mouth.
