Bangladesh ‘failing to provide evidence’ against Tulip Siddiq: UK lawyer

NN Online

A UK-based lawyer for former Labour minister Tulip Siddiq has accused Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of failing to provide any evidence to support serious corruption allegations against her.

According to The Standard UK, Siddiq’s legal team claims that the ACC has not produced “a single piece of documentary evidence” despite a formal request made last month. They argue that the ongoing case undermines Siddiq’s “fundamental right to justice.”

The ACC is currently investigating allegations that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and members of her family embezzled up to £3.9 billion from infrastructure projects in Dhaka. Siddiq, the prime minister’s niece, is also accused of using her influence to help allocate three plots of land in the Purbachal residential area for her UK-based mother and siblings.

On April 13, prosecutors in Dhaka ordered Siddiq to appear before the Senior Special Judges’ Court by April 27. Arrest warrants have also been issued for her mother, Sheikh Rehana, 69, her brother Radwan, 44, and sister Azmina, 34, in connection with the alleged illegal land acquisitions.

Siddiq, who stepped down from Keir Starmer’s Cabinet earlier this year, has strongly denied all charges. Her family has also rejected the accusations.