"they have peddled false and vexatious allegations"
Tulip Siddiq has branded her anti-corruption trial a “farce” as proceedings began in Bangladesh.
She did not attend the hearing in Dhaka.
Investigators from the country’s anti-corruption agency presented their case against her and 20 others, including her aunt, mother, brother and sister.
Siddiq, who resigned in January 2025 as Treasury minister, said the case was “built on fabricated accusations and driven by a clear political vendetta”.
She is accused of influencing her aunt, former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to obtain a 7,200 square foot plot of land in a Dhaka suburb for her relatives.
Sheikh Hasina, who is Siddiq’s aunt, fled Bangladesh in August 2024 after ruling for 15 years. She had previously served a five-year term and is the daughter of Bangladesh’s founding president.
She was ousted following student-led protests, which were met with violent crackdowns by security forces, killing nearly 300 people. Hasina is now exiled in India.
In April, Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission sought an arrest warrant for Siddiq over the alleged land acquisition. Officials from the commission gave evidence in court on August 13.
Tulip Siddiq claims she has received no official communication about the trial.
In a post on X as the case began, she said: “The so-called trial now underway in Dhaka is nothing more than a farce, built on fabricated accusations and driven by a clear political vendetta.
“Over the past year, the allegations against me have repeatedly shifted, yet I have never been contacted by the Bangladeshi authorities once.
“I have never received a court summons, no official communication, and no evidence.
“If this were a genuine legal process, the authorities would have engaged with me or my legal team, responded to our formal correspondence, and presented the evidence they claim to hold.
“Instead, they have peddled false and vexatious allegations that have been briefed to the media but never formally put to me by investigators.
“Even my offer to meet Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus during his recent visit to London was refused.
“Such conduct is wholly incompatible with the principles of a fair trial that we uphold in the UK.
“I have been clear from the outset that I have done nothing wrong and will respond to any credible evidence that is presented to me.
“Continuing to smear my name to score political points is both baseless and damaging.”
The so-called trial now underway in Dhaka is nothing more than a farce — built on fabricated accusations and driven by a clear political vendetta.
Over the past year, the allegations against me have repeatedly shifted, yet I have never been contacted by the Bangladeshi…
— Tulip Siddiq (@TulipSiddiq) August 13, 2025
Tulip Siddiq’s resignation followed an investigation by the Prime Minister’s ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, into her links to Hasina’s regime.
She faced scrutiny over the use of London properties linked to her aunt’s allies.
She said she stepped down because she had become “a distraction” from Labour’s agenda.
Members of Hasina’s Awami League party had campaigned for Siddiq during previous UK general elections.
Before the trial began, she said she was “collateral damage” in the long-running feud between Yunus and Hasina.
She said: “These are wider forces that I’m battling against… There’s no doubt people have done wrong things in Bangladesh, and they should be punished for it. It’s just I’m not one of them.”
Loading ...