Key points
- An Anti-Corruption Commission has been investigating allegations Siddiq illegally received land
- Siddiq is a British MP and former Labour minister
- Sheikh Hasina was deposed as prime minister last August
ISLAMABAD: Bangladeshi authorities have issued an arrest warrant for deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s niece Tulip Siddiq. Siddiq is a British MP and former Labour minister.
According to BBC, the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has been investigating allegations Siddiq illegally received land as part of its wider probe of the regime of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, who was deposed as prime minister in August.
The Hampstead and Highgate MP, who quit as economic secretary to the Treasury in January, was named in the arrest warrant alongside more than 50 others.
“Politically motivated”
Lawyers acting for Siddiq denied the charges, which they said were “politically motivated”.
The ACC had not presented any evidence or informed Siddiq about an arrest warrant, the lawyers added.
The UK lists Bangladesh as a 2B extradition country – meaning clear evidence must be presented before ministers and judges make a decision.
The ACC is examining claims Sheikh Hasina and her family embezzled up to £3.9bn from infrastructure spending in Bangladesh.
The investigation is based on a series of allegations made by Bobby Hajjaj, a political opponent of Hasina.
Court documents seen by the BBC show Hajjaj has accused Siddiq of helping to broker a deal with Russia in 2013 that overinflated the price of a new nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.
“Never had a plot of land”
According to Guardian, Bangladesh’s anti-corruption commission (ACC) has alleged that Siddiq, 42, received a 670 sq metre plot in the diplomatic zone of the capital, Dhaka, through ties to the former rulers, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
The allegation is that Siddiq persuaded her aunt to allocate three plots of land in the exclusive enclave for her family members, including her mother, Sheikh Rehana, her brother Radwan and her younger sister Azmina. The family are all based in Britain.
According to BBC, Siddiq’s lawyer Stephenson Harwood said: “The allegations are completely false and have been dealt with in writing by Siddiq’s lawyers.
“The ACC has not responded to Siddiq or put any allegations to her directly or through her lawyers.
“The allegations are completely false and have been dealt with in writing by Siddiq’s lawyers.” — Siddiq’s lawyer Stephenson Harwood
“Siddiq knows nothing about a hearing in Dhaka relating to her and she has no knowledge of any arrest warrant that is said
