ACC testifies against ex-UK minister Tulip in corruption case
Published: 14 August 2025, 1:37:33
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) officials testified on Wednesday against former British anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq, accusing her of leveraging her family ties to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to secure state-owned land in a township project near Dhaka.
According to a report by Associated Press (AP), Tulip; a niece of Hasina, is being tried in absentia alongside her mother Sheikh Rehana, brother Radwan Mujib and sister Azmina.
The case centers on allegations that the family unlawfully acquired land in a state-run housing project using political influence. All of the accused are currently outside Bangladesh.
Tulip had resigned from her ministerial post in Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government earlier this year, following media reports linking her to properties associated with her aunt and naming her in an anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh.
The AP reported that Tulip has denied all allegations, calling the charges “completely absurd” and politically motivated.
She recently told The Guardian that she is being used as “collateral damage” in the ongoing political rivalry between her aunt and current interim leader Muhammad Yunus.
Public Prosecutor Muhammad Tariqul Islam stated in court that Siddiq’s claim of not being a Bangladeshi citizen is untrue. He said investigations conducted by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) confirmed her citizenship. If convicted, she faces a prison sentence ranging from three to ten years.
The legal proceedings are unfolding in the wake of a broader anti-graft campaign under the current interim administration, which took office after Sheikh Hasina’s government was ousted in a student-led uprising last year.
The AP report also noted that a separate anti-corruption probe is investigating the family’s alleged involvement in brokering a 2013 deal with Russia for a nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.
Investigators claimed that substantial sums were misappropriated during that agreement.
While Tulip has strongly denied any wrongdoing, Bangladeshi authorities maintain that the legal actions are part of a broader effort to ensure accountability and address misuse of public resources by individuals with political connections.
