Tulip Siddiq is said to have “used her special power” as an MP to acquire land in Bangladesh as a trial into her alleged corruption has got underway.
The former anti-corruption minister allegedly put pressure on her aunt, Sheika Hasina, who is the ex-Bangladeshi prime minister, to secure land for members of her family in the country’s capital.
Tulip Siddiq is said to have ‘used her special power’ as an MP to acquire land in Bangladesh as a trial into her alleged corruption has got underway
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PA
An anti-corruption trial began in Dhaka yesterday.
According to The Times, Jannat Keya, an assistant director at the Anti-Corruption Commission, said Ms Siddiq had “simultaneously used her special power to exert pressure and influence on her aunt”.
Ms Siddiq – who resigned from her ministerial role in January after an investigation by the Prime Minister’s ethics adviser into her links to Ms Hasina’s regime – claims she had not any official communication about the trial.
She wrote on social media: “The so-called trial now under way in Dhaka is nothing more than a farce – built on fabricated accusations and driven by a clear political vendetta.
“Over the past year, the allegations against me have repeatedly shifted, yet I have never been contacted by the Bangladeshi authorities once.
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“I have never received a court summons, no official communication, and no evidence.
“If this were a genuine legal process, the authorities would have engaged with me or my legal team, responded to our formal correspondence, and presented the evidence they claim to hold.
“Instead, they have peddled false and vexatious allegations that have been briefed to the media but never formally put to me by investigators.
“Even my offer to meet Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus during his recent visit to London was refused.
“Such conduct is wholly incompatible with the principles of a fair trial that we uphold in the UK.
“I have been clear from the outset that I have done nothing wrong and will respond to any credible evidence that is presented to me.
“Continuing to smear my name to score political points is both baseless and damaging.”
The MP had resigned in January after six months in Government after an investigation by the Prime Minister’s ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus into her links to Ms Hasina’s regime.
Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission had sought an arrest warrant for Ms Siddiq over allegations she had illegally received the 7,200sq ft plot of land
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PAShe came under scrutiny over her use of properties in London linked to her aunt’s allies.
The MP stepped down and said she had become “a distraction” from Labour’s agenda.
Campaigners from her aunt’s party, the Awami League, had campaigned and canvassed for her during previous general elections.
