Authorities in Bangladesh have filed a criminal case against the UK Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq, accusing her of misusing her position as an MP to gain influence and illegally acquire land with her aunt, the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Siddiq has faced mounting calls to resign over her links to Hasina, who was toppled in August after mass protests across Bangladesh and is facing charges of corruption and crimes against humanity.
On Monday, Bangladesh’s anti-corruption commission (ACC) said it had filed a case against Hasina and her wider family over an alleged large-scale land grab of lucrative plots in a suburb of the capital, Dhaka. The case named the former prime minister as well as Siddiq.
“Sheikh Hasina, in collaboration with some officials, allocated plots for herself and her family members,” said the ACC director general, Akhter Hossain. “The ACC investigation team has obtained the necessary documents and found sufficient evidence to file the cases.”
In the police report detailing the alleged corruption, filed by the ACC deputy director, Mohammad Salahuddin, it said Siddiq “became aware” of a deal orchestrated by Hasina that allotted large plots of land in Dhaka to family members.
It alleged that, while serving as a UK member of parliament, Siddiq then “used her special influence and authority to pressure and influence her aunt, Ms Sheikh Hasina” to arrange similar land allocations for Siddiq’s mother, sister and brother. The evidence for these claims, it added, was “revealed from various sources”.
The filing of the case is likely to put further pressure on Siddiq to resign from her position, which includes responsibility for tackling financial corruption. She has been accused of numerous links to Hasina’s corrupt regime, including reports she had lived in properties paid for by Hasina’s allies, and allegations still under investigation in Bangladesh that she and family members embezzled billions of dollars as part of a nuclear power plant deal with Russia.
This week, the UK anti-corruption commission, which includes organisations such as Oxfam, Transparency International and Spotlight on Corruption, said Siddiq “currently has a serious conflict of interests” and called for her to step aside from all aspects of her role involving economic crime, corruption or illegal finance.
Siddiq has repeatedly denied all the allegations and said she had no involvement in Bangladeshi politics. Last week she referred herself to the prime minister’s adviser on ministerial interests, asking for an investigation to be done to “independently establish the facts”.
Downing Street has continued to voice support for Siddiq and said she had acted appropriately by referring herself for independent investigation. “When it comes to Tulip Siddiq, the prime minister has got full confidence in her,” said a spokesperson for Keir Starmer.
On Tuesday morning, the government minister Dan Jarvis told Times Radio that Siddiq was “getting on with her job … the prime minister’s independent adviser is looking carefully at the circumstances of this particular case and the prime minister will ultimately make a decision.”