The former City minister Tulip Siddiq has asked to meet Bangladesh’s leader during his London visit to clear up a “misunderstanding” after corruption allegations made by his administration led her to resign from the UK government.
Siddiq, whose aunt Sheikh Hasina was put on trial in absentia last week over crimes against humanity during her 15 years as prime minister, has been accused of benefitting from the former regime by the authorities in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.
A series of allegations have been aired in the media including the claim from the country’s anti-corruption commission (ACC) that Siddiq or her mother had received a 7,200 sq ft plot of land through “abuse of power and influence”.
Siddiq denies the claims which her lawyers have described as being “politically motivated” and without foundation. She further claims not to have been contacted by the authorities over any of the allegations.
She was cleared of any wrongdoing by the adviser on ministerial standards, Laurie Magnus, but resigned as economic secretary to the Treasury and city minister over the “distraction” being caused for Keir Starmer’s new government.
In a letter to Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel prize-winning economist who is the interim leader of the Bangladeshi government, Siddiq has asked for an opportunity to discuss the ongoing controversy during his visit to London next week where he will meet King Charles and see Keir Starmer in Downing Street.
In her letter, Siddiq writes that she hopes a meeting might “help clear up the misunderstanding perpetuated by the anti-corruption committee in Dhaka that I have questions to answer in relation to my mother’s sister, the former prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina”.
She continued: “I am a UK citizen, born in London and representing the people of Hampstead and Highgate in parliament for the last decade.
“I have no property nor any business interests whatsoever in Bangladesh. The country is dear to my heart but it is not the country where I was born, live in or have built my career in.
“I have sought to clarify this to the ACC but they refuse to engage with my lawyers in London and apparently keep sending correspondence to a random address in Dhaka.”
Siddiq added: “Every move in this fantasy investigation is briefed to the media, and yet no engagement was facilitated with my legal team.
“I know you’ll appreciate how important it is to ensure those reports do not become a distraction from the critical work of doing my very best for my constituents and my country.”
The ACC has been probing allegations that Sheikh Hasina and her wider family embezzled billions of pounds from infrastructure spending based on a series of claims made by Bobby Hajjaj, a political opponent of the former prime minister.
Siddiq has claimed she is being targeted by a “politically motivated smear campaign” orchestrated by her aunt’s opponents.
Last month it was reported that a warrant had been issued in Bangladesh for Siddiq’s arrest.
She claims to have no knowledge of any such warrant or court hearings to which she was required to appear. As a 2B extradition country, the UK requires ministers and judges to see clear evidence from Bangladesh before they make an arrest decision.
After Siddiq had referred herself to the adviser on ministerial standards last year amid allegations about her acquirement of property in the UK, she was cleared in January of any wrongdoing.
Magnus had found no evidence to suggest that any of Siddiq’s assets were derived from anything other than legitimate means but added that she could have been more alive to the reputational risks arising from her family’s ties to Bangladesh.
The inquiry had also looked into her presence at the signing of a 2013 nuclear deal between her aunt and Vladimir Putin in Moscow over which there had been claims aired in the media of embezzlement by Siddiq. The standards adviser accepted her explanation that she had been in Moscow socially and as a tourist.
Last month the National Crime Agency froze almost £90m of luxury London property belonging to two men linked to Siddiq’s aunt.
Shafiqul Alam, the Bangladeshi leader’s spokesperson, said his government had not yet received Siddiq’s letter although it is understood to have been emailed and posted by the former’s minister’s lawyers. “We cannot comment on something we have not seen,” he said.