planning officials were bribed and pressured
Anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq has been accused of being involved in the illegal allocation of land to family members in Bangladesh while serving as an MP.
Bangladesh’s anti-corruption commission filed an affidavit accusing Siddiq and others of fraudulently obtaining plots in the diplomatic zone of a development near Dhaka.
The document stated: “While serving as a Member of the British parliament, it is known that [Siddiq] exerted pressure and influence on her aunt, the former Prime Minister, to take measures for the allotment of plots in the same project in the names of her mother, Mrs Rehana Siddiq, her sister Ms Azmina Siddiq, and her brother Mr Radwan Mujib Siddiq.”
Akhtar Hossain, the Director-General of the Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission, said:
“Tulip Siddiq and former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina misused… power to take the plot from the Purbachal New Town Project.”
According to investigators, planning officials were bribed and pressured into fraudulently allocating land.
Meanwhile, a Labour source said Siddiq refuted the claims and had not been contacted by anyone on the matter, nor had any evidence of the allegations been presented.
Tulip Siddiq has already been named in Bangladeshi court documents, relating to the alleged embezzlement from a nuclear power project in the country.
The court claim was made by Bobby Hajjaj, a political opponent of Siddiq’s aunt Sheikh Hasina.
Hasina resigned as Prime Minister and fled Bangladesh in August 2024 amid weeks of violent protests.
The new government has since accused Hasina’s Awami League of crimes and corruption while in office.
Tulip Siddiq has come under mounting pressure over her alleged links to her aunt’s political party.
The Labour MP has also been found to have lived in several London properties with links to alleged allies of her aunt’s regime.
She has since referred herself to the ethics watchdog.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has urged UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to sack Siddiq, adding that he had “appointed his personal friend as anti-corruption minister and she is accused herself of corruption”.
The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition has also said Siddiq should step aside from the money laundering and economic crime brief she currently holds.
Senior Coordinator Peter Munro said: “The clear conflict of interest surrounding Tulip Siddiq presents a key test for the new government… as anti-corruption experts, it is clear to us that she should not hold responsibility for these sensitive areas in her portfolio.”
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