Labour minister Tulip Siddiq refers herself to ethics watchdog over corruption allegations

6 January 2025, 14:08

Sir Keir Starmer’s anti-corruption minister has referred herself to the government’s standards watchdog after she was accused of benefiting from her aunt’s deposed authoritarian regime in Bangladesh.

Tulip Siddiq, the City minister responsible for tackling corruption in the financial markets, has submitted herself for an investigation by the government's ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus.

She wrote in a letter sent to Sir 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. I will obviously ensure you have all the information you need to do this.”

Ms Siddiq is the niece of Sheikh Hasina, the former totalitarian leader of Bangladesh who was removed from power last year following an uprising.

Its new government has accused Hasina of committing “massacres, killings and crimes against humanity”, including the deaths of around 800 protesters.

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The prime minister has argued the 42-year-old Hampstead and Highgate MP has “acted entirely properly” by referring to herself to the standard’s watchdog, adding that Sir Laurie Magnus will “now establish the facts”.

He added: I’ve got confidence in her, and that’s the process that will now be happening.”

Ms Siddiq has denied any wrongdoing.

She is accused of benefiting from the regime after she was given a King’s Cross flat by a political ally of her aunt’s regime worth £700,000.

A spokesman for Ms Siddiq had previously 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 would be categorically wrong.”

She had also been living in a flat worth £650,000, originally given to her sister, by one of their aunt’s advisers.

Ms Saddiq has previously been accused of helping her aunt siphon off billions of pounds from infrastructure projects.

Bangladeshi anti-corruption officials claimed that Ms Siddiq and her family embezzled the equivalent of several billion pounds from nine large building projects, including a nuclear power plant, according to local media.

Syed Faruk, who runs the UK branch of Ms Hasina's Awami League party, said the claims were "fabricated."

"These are 100 per cent politically motivated attacks against the Hasina family by the current government," he told the Mail."

They are attacking Tulip because she is the niece of our honourable prime minister, Sheikh Hasina."

Ms Siddiq, who is also the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, is one of several family members accused of taking part in the alleged corrupt activities.

Anti-corruption officials accuse her specifically of playing a key part in brokering a deal with the Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom, which is helping build the nuclear power plant.

The British Treasury and the Labour Party had previously declined to comment on these specific allegations against Ms Siddiq.