NN Online:
Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus has urged Tulip Siddiq – a niece of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the daughter of Sheikh Rehana – to apologise amid allegations of receiving flat as a gift and concealing related information. He has also called for an investigation into the properties that Tulip uses in London, intensifying scrutiny on the city minister.
In an interview with the influential British newspaper, The Sunday Times, Dr Muhammad Yunus made this call on Thursday at the chief adviser’s residence, Jamuna, in Dhaka.
In the interview, he said, “She [Tulip] should apologise for benefiting from properties given to her and her family during Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian rule.”
He emphasised the need for an investigation into the properties that Tulip uses in London. If it is proven that she acquired these properties through “complete theft,” they should be returned.
The economist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate further said to The Sunday Times that it is essential to investigate whether Tulip Siddiq’s homes in London, while serving as the treasury and city minister responsible for combating financial corruption, were acquired through embezzlement.
The Sunday Times has reported that they have confirmed through investigation that Tulip Siddiq has lived for years in a house purchased by two Bangladeshi businessmen via an offshore company. Despite this, she has consistently denied any financial impropriety.
It said, “Tulip facilitated a nuclear power agreement between the Bangladesh government and Russia during Sheikh Hasina’s regime, benefiting financially in the process. The Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission is currently investigating the corruption allegations against her, which she has denied.”
The chief adviser said, “It is absurd for Tulip, who has become the UK government’s minister for tackling corruption, to be facing corruption allegations herself. While she may not have realised the implications of her actions at the time, she should now acknowledge her mistakes.
“You [Tulip] should say sorry. You [Tulip] didn’t know then, but now you should apologise to the public and resign,” he said, criticising her attempts to protect herself instead.
Meanwhile, UK Conservative Party’s Leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to dismiss Tulip Siddiq. In a post on X, Badenoch said it is time for Starmer to act, highlighting that he appointed Tulip as the anti-corruption minister while she faces corruption allegations herself.
Badenoch emphasised that, instead of focusing on addressing the financial issues created by the government, Tulip has become a distraction. He raised concerns regarding Tulip’s connections to Sheikh Hasina’s regime as a reason for her dismissal.
