Tulip Siddiq, former UK Treasury Minister and niece of ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has refrained from directly addressing allegations of corruption linked to her name, stating that her lawyers are prepared to respond to any formal queries.
In an interview with Sky News, Tulip Siddiq claimed that Bangladeshi authorities have not contacted her regarding corruption allegations, adding, “My lawyers are prepared to answer any formal questions regarding accusations of corruption in Bangladesh.”
Rather than directly denying the allegations, Siddiq deferred responsibility to her legal team. When asked whether she regrets her association with the Awami League, the political party led by her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, she said, “Why don’t you look at my legal letter and see if I have anything to respond to… I’ve not been contacted even once by the Bangladeshi authorities. I’m still waiting to hear from them.”
Siddiq stepped down from her ministerial role in January this year following mounting pressure over a series of allegations. These include allegedly accepting a luxury apartment as a gift from a close associate of Sheikh Hasina, and being linked to embezzlement from the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project.
Chief Adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, recently told Sky News that Siddiq holds significant assets in Bangladesh and should be held accountable. In response, Siddiq’s legal team sent a letter to Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), dismissing the allegations as “false and vexatious.”
The letter demanded that if there were any valid questions for Siddiq, they must be submitted before March 25, 2025—after which any lack of communication would be considered as having no legal grounds to seek a response.
In a recent online post, Siddiq stated that the deadline had passed and no official queries had been made. Sky News reported that it had reached out to the Bangladeshi government for a statement on the matter.
Sheikh Hasina stepped down and left the country in August last year amid mass protests. Her regime was widely criticized for politically motivated arrests, extrajudicial killings, and alleged human rights abuses—actions that ultimately branded her a dictator in the eyes of the international community.
LND/BG
