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UK city minister Tulip Siddiq has been named in a second investigation by authorities in Bangladesh as he fights calls from charities to back down from his anti-corruption campaign.
The Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission alleges that Siddiq tried to force his aunt, the country's former leader Sheikh Hasina, to give Siddiq's mother and two brothers land in the Dhaka embassy.
Investigators alleged that Sheikh Hasina while in office used senior officials of the Dhaka development authority RAJUK to allocate one hectare of land to her and her two children for the Purbachal New Town Project.
“When you understand . . . While serving as a British Member of Parliament, Ms. Tulip Siddiq is alleged to have used her special influence and authority to pressure and influence her aunt, Ms. Sheikh Hasina, to prepare the same allocation for the same project, to her mother, Ms. Rehana Siddique. , his sister, Ms. Azmina Siddique, and his brother, Mr. Radwan Mujib Siddique,” ACC said in a statement published on Monday detailing the allegations. The report says that Sheikh Rehana was allotted the site in 2022.
Research is different from probe before to claims that Siddiq and other family members benefited from the Bangladesh government's $12 million deal with Russia over a nuclear power plant. The family has denied all allegations of misconduct.
Siddiq has been a Labor MP since 2015 and is a close ally of UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Last week, Siddiq approached Sir Laurie Magnus, the government's independent adviser on ministerial standards.
“Tulip has reported to an independent consultant on ministerial standards to independently ascertain the facts of these matters,” Siddiq's spokesman said on Tuesday. “It is clear that he has done nothing wrong.”
Downing Street on Tuesday said Magnus would report “shortly”.
Sheikh Rehana – Sheikh Hasina's only surviving sibling and key political figure in the ousted administration – Radwan Mujib Siddique and Azmina Siddique could not immediately be reached for comment. Sheikh Hasina and her children, Sajeeb Wazed and Saima Wazed, were also not immediately available.
Sheikh Hasina's regime was like that it was dropped last summer following a student-led protest that was met with violence by the security forces, which led to the death of hundreds of people.
The former Bangladeshi leader last month denied ordering security forces to use lethal force against protesters and said the allegations against him were “false”.
His son Sajeeb Wazed last month dismissed the nuclear power plant's investigation, telling Reuters that “it is impossible to spend billions on a $10 billion project (nuclear deal). . . none of us have ever seen that kind of money”.
Siddiq has faced calls from the UK's Conservative Party to step down from his role as Treasury, while anti-corruption groups have said his role is now untenable.
The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition – which includes groups such as Oxfam, Transparency International and Spotlight on Corruption – said in a statement on Monday that Siddiq should hand over responsibility for combating economic crime, money laundering and illegal money to another government minister.
Siddiq currently faces a “significant conflict of interest” due to direct family ties to the ousted administration that could be investigated by UK authorities, the union said.
“The UK has a historic responsibility to support the new interim government of Bangladesh, ensure a democratic transition, and recover stolen assets, not least because some of those assets may be hidden in the UK itself,” the coalition added.
Starmer's spokesman said on Monday the prime minister had “full confidence” in Siddiq.