Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq resigns after being linked to an anti-corruption inquiry in Bangladesh. Image: City AM
(The Post News)- Former British MP Tulip Siddiq is on Trial in Bangladesh, accused of using political influence to secure prime real estate for her family.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) claims Siddiq, the MP for Hampstead and Highgate, pressured her aunt, then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, into granting a 7,200-square-foot plot in Dhaka’s Purbachal project to her mother, sister, and brother. Bangladeshi law bans such allocations for people who already own property in the capital.
Prosecutors have named 20 other defendants. They include Siddiq’s mother, Sheikh Rehana, siblings Azmina and Radwin Siddiq, and Hasina herself. Officials say the charges could bring sentences of up to life in prison.
ACC prosecutor Tariqul Islam says Siddiq is being tried as a Bangladeshi citizen. He cites what the commission claims are her national ID and passport records. Siddiq’s lawyers deny this. They say she has not held Bangladeshi documents since childhood.
Siddiq rejects the allegations. She calls them “fabricated” and politically motivated. “I have not received a summons, official notification, or evidence,” she said. “If this were a genuine legal process, the authorities would have contacted me or my lawyers.”
In January, Siddiq resigned as Treasury minister. She said she did not want the case to distract from the work of the government. A review by the UK’s ministerial standards adviser found no rule-breaking. However, it warned of “reputational risks” because of her family ties.
The case comes amid political turmoil in Bangladesh. Hasina was ousted in 2024 after violent student-led protests killed hundreds. She fled to India. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus became interim leader and pledged to prosecute members of the former regime.
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