Tulip under British media's spotlight after ACC begins inquiry: Everything that has happened so far
Since the news of the ACC inquiry against alleged embezzlement by ousted PM Hasina and her family members, including Tulip Siddiq, came to light, the British MP has become regular headlines in British media. Here’s everything that has happened so far
A little over four months after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on 17 December started an investigation into allegations of a massive Tk80,000 crore embezzlement against the former PM, her sister Sheikh Rehana and other family members.
Among the family members are Tulip Siddiq, a city minister in the UK and daughter of Rehana.
Of the Tk80,000 crore embezzlement allegations from different development projects initiated during the Awami League (AL) regime, Tk59,000 crore was reportedly embezzled by Hasina, Rehana, Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and Tulip.
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Since the news of Tulip's involvement in such a high-profile inquiry came to light, the UK minister has become headlines in the British media.
News of the alleged allegations, her past misdeeds, and her being questioned by UK officials have become regular news for several British media outlets, including The Guardian, BBC, Daily Mail, Financial Times, The Telegraph, and Sunday Times.
The UK PM Starmer government supported Tulip very much in the beginning, though.
Full support from British PM: Guardian
On 20 December, three days after ACC began its investigation, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer extended his full support to Tulip.
The ACC inquiry incident also unravelled during a turbulent period for Keir Starmer's administration, as his transport secretary Louise Haigh had just resigned from the post.
However, the current opposition — UK Conservatives — quickly exploited the situation. Calling it "the latest stain on Keir Starmer's judgment".
Questioned by UK officials: Sunday Times
The news of UK officials interviewing Tulip over the allegations that she helped her family embezzle money came to light on 23 December.
According to The Sunday Times news, Tulip agreed to meet a representative of the propriety and ethics team (PET) of the UK on 19 December, welcomed them to her office and gave her response to allegations about her involvement in the Rooppur power plant project.
It also said her explanation about the Russia deal was accepted at face value, and the fact that she held the meeting does not indicate any civil service investigation into her.
Siddiq was unavailable for comment and the Cabinet Office said, "As previously stated, the minister has denied any involvement."
Tulip given London flat by developer with links to Hasina: Financial Times
On 3 January, the Financial Times reported that the UK city minister received a flat in Central London as a gift in 2004 from Abdul Motalif, a developer and associate of people linked to her aunt Hasina.
It quoted previously unreported Land Registry filings that say Tulip was handed a two-bedroom flat near King's Cross in 2004 without making a payment.
The King's Cross property, which Tulip still owns, was purchased in January 2001 for £195,000. A neighbouring flat in the building was sold in August for £650,000.
Tulip was still unavailable for comments. However, a spokesperson for the minister said, "Any suggestion that Tulip Siddiq's ownership of this property, or any other property is in any way linked to support for the Awami League [a party ousted from power in August], would be categorically wrong."
Motalif confirmed to the FT in a phone call that he bought the King's Cross property but declined to comment on what he did with it.
Another 'free' flat in London from another Hasina aide: Sunday Times
As if the news of Tulip receiving one free flat was not enough, The Sunday Times, on 4 January, reported another free flat given to her family by an ally of her aunt's deposed regime.
According to the report, this flat on Finchley Road in Hampstead, north London, was given to her teenage sister Azmina by Moin Ghani, a Bangladeshi lawyer who has represented Hasina's government, handed the property to Azmina in 2009.
While it is unclear exactly when Tulip moved into the flat, the report says she listed the property as her address upon her appointment in December 2012 as a director of the Working Men's College education institute.
She did the same on becoming a trustee of the Camden Arts Centre charity in January 2014 and the Hampstead Wells and Campden Trust, another non-profit, in March 2014.
Her husband, Christian Percy, listed it as his address as late as May 2016, by which time Tulip was serving as Labour MP for Hampstead & Kilburn, The Sunday Times reports.
The flat was sold by Azmina for £650,000 in 2021. By then, Ghani, the prior owner, had spent years advising Bangladesh in international disputes. Hasina's government nominated him in 2021 for a role on a World Bank panel.
'Lying' about receiving flat as gift, under pressure to resign: Daily Mail
A 5 January article published by Daily Mail said Tulip was under pressure to quit after allegations emerged that she had lied about receiving a London flat as a gift.
The report read Tulip had denied it was a gift, instead insisting that her parents had bought it for her.
Labour sources told Daily Mail that the King's Cross flat was indeed given to her by the developer as an "act of gratitude."
"Following financial support provided by Tulip's parents to an acquaintance during a challenging time in his life, he subsequently transferred a property he owned into Tulip's ownership as an act of gratitude for her parents' support," a labour insider told Daily Mail.
MPs from UK's Conservative Party demanded she step down as minister unless she explains herself.
"Siddiq needs to clarify the position in relation to her property dealings and explain what was stated originally and why. If she does not, her position as a minister is untenable," Daily Mail quoted Bob Blackman, the Tory MP for Harrow East, as saying.
MP Matt Vickers, Shadow Home Office minister, added, "Allegations of this nature against any member of government are unacceptable, but are even more questionable when the minister is Starmer's anti-corruption minister."
Starmer still backs Tulip: Reuters
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, on 6 January, said he had confidence in Tulip.
According to a Reuters report, Starmer was asked in a press conference whether Siddiq should "come clean" following media reports about her use of homes in Britain linked to Hasina's government.
"Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely properly by referring herself to the independent adviser, as she has now done," Starmer said. "I've got confidence in her, and that's the process that will now be happening."
Starmer was referring to the government's ethics adviser Laurie Magnus, whose brief is to ensure that ministers uphold their code of conduct.
Magnus has the power to investigate alleged breaches of the ministerial code of conduct and directly advise the prime minister.
Tulip refers herself to UK watchdog: Guardian
On 6 January, Tulip in her role as the City and anti-corruption minister, had asked Keir Starmer's independent adviser on ministerial standards to investigate if she had broken the ministerial code, reports The Guardian.
Siddiq wrote to Magnus: "In recent weeks, I have been the subject of media reporting, much of it inaccurate, about my financial affairs and my family's links to the former government of Bangladesh.
"I am clear that I have done nothing wrong. However, for the avoidance of doubt, I would like you to independently establish the facts about these matters."
UK crime agency could investigate Tulip's properties: Sunday Times
The UK's National Crime Agency's International Corruption Unit had been aiding authorities in Bangladesh to identify properties bought using money laundered out of the country during Hasina's rule, according to a report by UK media The Times on 6 January.
The flat owned by Siddiq, gifted to her by a businessman close to the regime, could well be in scope, as could the house in which she lives, which is owned by a political ally of Hasina, a source familiar with the investigation told The Times.
According to the report, the Bangladesh Bank is working with British law enforcement agencies to bring back money embezzled by some allies of the previous regime.
Officials from the National Crime Agency (NCA) and from HMRC are believed to have visited Dhaka to support the work of investigators late last year, The Times said.
Meanwhile in Bangladesh, the financial intelligence unit asked for bank account details of Tulip on 7 January.
The anti-money laundering agency had also sought details of the accounts of her family members, including Tulip's sister, Azmina Siddique, her brother Radwan Mujib Siddiq and her mother, Sheikh Rehana.
AL UK branch campaigned for Starmer: Telegraph
On 8 January, The Telegraph reported that the UK branch of the Bangladeshi Awami League, led by the ousted regime of Hasina, actively campaigned for Sir Keir Starmer.
The group also attended a fundraising dinner for the now-Prime Minister during his tenure in the shadow cabinet, reports The Telegraph.
The Awami League continues to maintain a UK wing, with some of its members campaigning for Tulip Siddiq, MP for Hampstead and niece of Sheikh Hasina, read the report.
RAB's harassment of Mir Ahmed bin Quasem's family linked to Tulip's 2017 questioning: Sunday Times, FT
The Sunday Times, in report published yesterday (9 January), linked Tulip to the terrorisation of a dissident lawyer's family by the country's elite force, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
The accusations date back to 2017 when Tulip, 42, was asked by journalists in London about Mir Ahmad bin Quasem, a British-trained lawyer who had been detained in 2016 by the brutal regime of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina.
Michael Polak, a British barrister representing Quasem, said, "I could not say Tulip ordered them [the RAB] to harass his family. What we're saying is it looks like she tells whoever in Dhaka what has happened and as a result the law enforcement are sent around to harass his family."
There is no suggestion that Tulip was aware that RAB action would be taken against the lawyer's family.
The incident began when journalists from Channel 4 News asked Tulip about Quasem's detention during a 2017 rally in London in support of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was imprisoned in Iran.
Before the footage aired, the RAB confronted Quasem's mother, sister, wife, and their two young daughters at their home. Polak said that the RAB told the family, "you are talking to people" and "defaming Bangladesh internationally."
The day after the broadcast, 20 heavily armed officers returned, with the commander threatening: "This time we are going and leaving you. But we will make sure if there is any such news come next time we will not be good like this time."
Polak said, "This was a clear threat not to allow this to happen again, or else."
The Financial Times also published a similar story on 8 January.
UK govt 'considering candidates to replace Tulip': Sunday Times
Senior allies of UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer are considering candidates to replace Tulip Siddiq if she is forced to quit over links to her aunt's ousted Bangladeshi regime, according to a report published by The Sunday Times yesterday (9 January).
The Sunday newspaper quoted officials who said they had identified candidates to succeed the treasury minister over the weekend before the public announcement that Tulip had referred herself to the prime minister's ethics watchdog, which was made on Monday (6 January).
