Estranged husband banned from selling properties amid murder investigation

The estranged husband of a woman allegedly murdered overseas has been prohibited from selling three properties the pair owned together.

Representatives from the Australian Federal Police were present in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday, as Awlad Hossain's lawyer applied to have his bail conditions varied.

The ABC revealed last April that the AFP was investigating the suspected murder of Rehana Parvin, whose body was found buried in the yard of Mr Hossain's sister's home in Bangladesh in September 2024.

The ABC does not suggest Mr Hossain was responsible for Ms Parvin's death. There is a warrant out for his arrest in Bangladesh.

Mr Hossain was granted bail last March after being charged with forgery and uttering a forged document in relation to Ms Parvin's death certificate.

Police alleged Mr Hossain forged the certificate to transfer the pair's three Queensland properties into his name.

Magistrate Rosemary Gilbert on Thursday denied the application to allow Mr Hossain to engage in dealings with the properties, which are located in Blenheim, Lanefield and Churchable.

Prosecutor Bimal Raut had argued the application was "extraordinary", given the "nature and seriousness of the matter".

"Firstly, there is (a Bangladeshi) arrest warrant against Mr Hossain and the Australian Federal Police have an interest; they're present in court," he said.

Mr Raut said there was ongoing investigations in relation to the deceased and Mr Hossain's involvement.

"The charge is directly related to the property," he said.

"In no way should (the application) be entertained unless the charge is dismissed or withdrawn."

Defence lawyer Torik Dib said Mr Hossain was struggling financially to pay the mortgage on one of the properties, which he hoped to sell to fund his legal fees.

"He's precluded from being able to sell properties to fund legal (proceedings)," Mr Dib said.

Mr Dib said his client had a limited criminal history, apart from contraventions of a domestic violence order for which he was given community orders.

"He's a man that has lived in Australia for 20 years, he has five children … he's suffering financial hardship."

Mr Hossain had also been cooperative and compliant with requests by AFP officers over the past 12 months, even permitting them to take DNA extracts from his boot, according to Mr Dib.

It is alleged that Mr Hossain hired a civil solicitor and gave the lawyer a fraudulent death certificate to use in dealings with the titles office in January 2025, Mr Dib told the court.

The titles office then flagged the document and reported it to police, leading to Mr Hossain being charged.

Mr Dib argued that the death certificate was "genuine" and the Bangladeshi government was in a period of upheaval at the time, which explained why a QR code was not included on the document.

"There's been regular communication with solicitors in Bangladesh … and one of those has provided … documents … showing this was the death certificate published by the government at the time," Mr Dib said.

The matter has been committed to Brisbane's District Court, and is expected to proceed to trial at a later date.