UK Minister, Tulip Siddiq Resigns Over Alleged Bangladesh Corruption

• Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq steps down over scrutiny of family connections to Bangladesh.
• Standards adviser finds no impropriety but flags reputational risks from her ties to Sheikh Hasina.
• Siddiq resigns, stating her decision avoids distraction while affirming she did nothing wrong.

Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq has resigned following mounting pressure over an anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh.

Siddiq had referred herself to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s standards adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, amid questions about her connections to her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the former Bangladeshi prime minister who was ousted last year.

While Sir Laurie stated he found “no evidence of improprieties,” he noted it was “regrettable” that Siddiq had not been more mindful of the “potential reputational risks” stemming from her familial ties.

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Siddiq announced her resignation, citing concerns that staying in her role would be “a distraction” for the government, while maintaining she had done nothing wrong.

In a letter accepting her resignation, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the “door remains open” for her return in the future.

As Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Siddiq was responsible for tackling corruption in UK financial markets. However, she was named last month in an investigation alleging her family embezzled up to £3.9bn from infrastructure projects in Bangladesh.

The scrutiny also extended to her use of London properties linked to her aunt’s allies. One property, a King’s Cross flat, was reportedly gifted to Siddiq by an associate of the recently ousted Bangladeshi government. While Siddiq initially denied the flat was a gift, media reports, including from The Mail on Sunday, claimed otherwise.

Sir Laurie conducted an eight-day investigation into the allegations after Siddiq referred herself to the standards watchdog.

In his letter, Sir Laurie said Siddiq “acknowledges that, over an extended period, she was unaware of the origins of her ownership of her flat in Kings Cross, despite having signed a Land Registry transfer form relating to the gift at the time”.

He said the MP “remained under the impression that her parents had given the flat to her, having purchased it from the previous owner”.

This had led to the public being “inadvertently misled” about the identity of the donor of the flat, added Sir Laurie.

Sir Laurie said this was an “unfortunate misunderstanding” which had led to Siddiq issuing a public correction of “the origins of her ownership after she became a minister”.

In the letter, Sir Laurie said: “A lack of records and lapse of time has meant that, unfortunately, I have not been able to obtain comprehensive comfort in relation to all the UK property-related matters referred to in the media.

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“However, I have not identified evidence of improprieties connected with the actions taken by Ms Siddiq and/or her husband in relation to their ownership or occupation of the London properties that have been the subject of press attention.

“Similarly, I have found no suggestion of any unusual financial arrangements relating to Ms Siddiq’s ownership or occupation of the properties in question involving the Awami League (or its affiliated organisations) or the state of Bangladesh.

“In addition, I have found no evidence to suggest that Ms Siddiq’s and/or her husband’s financial assets, as disclosed to me, derive from anything other than legitimate means.”

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