Labour MP and former United Kingdom minister Tulip Siddiq has accused the Bangladeshi authorities of carrying out a “politically motivated smear campaign” after they issued an arrest warrant against her.
Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is investigating allegations that Siddiq illegally received a plot of land as part of a wider probe of the regime of her aunt Sheikh Hasina.

Tulip, the Hampstead and Highgate MP, quit as economic secretary to the Treasury in January and was named in the arrest warrant along with 50 others.
Responding to the arrest warrant, Siddiq told reporters the Bangladeshi authorities were conducting a “trial by media”.

Advertisment

Also Read | After Murshidabad, violence erupts in Bengal’s South 24 Parganas over Waqf law

She said, “My lawyers proactively wrote to the Bangladeshi authorities, they never responded.” 
“I’m sure you’ll understand I can’t dignify this politically motivated smear campaign with any context or any comments. It’s a completely politically motivated smear campaign trying to harass me. There is no evidence that I’ve done anything wrong.”
The UK lists Bangladesh as a 2B extradition country, meaning clear evidence must be presented before ministers and judges make a decision.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said he would not comment on individual cases.

Also Read | ‘Better to split up Bangladesh than…’: Northeast leader’s response to Yunus remark

Siddiq’s lawyers said on Sunday the ACC had made various allegations against the MP “through media in the last few months”.
“The allegations are completely false and have been dealt with in writing,” said law firm Stephenson Harwood, representing Siddiq, reported BBC.

Bangladesh’s ACC is examining allegations that Hasina and her family embezzled up to £3.9 billion from infrastructure spending.

The probe is based on allegations made by Hasina’s political opponent, Bobby Hajjaj.
Hajjaj has accused Siddiq of helping to broker a deal with Russia in 2013 that overinflated the price of a new nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.

Also Read | Video: UK’s Birmingham needs the Pied Piper as rats run amok in city amid trash piles

“Tulip Siddiq must not shy away from the court proceedings in Bangladesh. I would welcome Siddiq come and defend her case with the best possible legal support accompanying her,” said ACC chairman Mohammad Abdul Momen earlier while claiming that the allegations “are by no means targeted and baseless” and based on documentary evidence of corruption.

Siddiq quit her ministerial post earlier this year after she referred herself to the PM’s ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, when the corruption allegations first surfaced.

In his report, Sir Laurie said he had “not identified evidence of improprieties” but added it was ‘regrettable’ that Siddiq had not been more alert to the “potential reputational risks” of her ties to her aunt, leader of the Awami League party in Bangladesh.