Matters are coming to a head this week as Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus visits London to receive an award and – according to Bangladeshi officials – speak with Keir Starmer. The UK side has been strangely quiet about the upcoming meeting sought by Yunus, suggesting there is nervousness in Downing Street about what might be brought up…
Last week Yunus said he would raise Bangladesh’s efforts to recover funds allegedly embezzled by Awami League figures in Sheikh Hasina’s regime and stored in assets abroad. Former anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq has also put herself on the agenda this weekend…
In a letter to Yunus which was briefed to The Guardian Siddiq requests a meeting with Bangladesh’s leader in order to “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.” Siddiq promoted her enthusiasm to clear matters on an X post with the comments turned off…
Tulip and her lawyers have always denied all wrongdoing and she adds in the letter: “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.” Meanwhile over the weekend the Anti-Corruption Commission in Bangladesh said it had seized 87 pages of tax returns filed in the country by Siddiq which “cover the assessment years 2006–07 to 2018–19″…
The Awami League party of Tulip’s aunt Sheikh Hasina is protesting the visit, telling Downing Street “that any formal meeting lends legitimacy to an unelected and unconstitutional administration.” As revealed on these pixels Starmer has hobnobbed with senior Awami League staff – including Hasina – for years and was seen doing so as recently as December…
Yunus’ office for its part says it never received that letter from Tulip and therefore “we cannot comment on something we have not seen.” If Starmer actually meets with Yunus the pair has the opportunity to discuss the case in detail…
Interim leader of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus told journalists today he will visit the UK next week from 10 to 13 June. He’s set to receive an award from the King…
Yunus will also hold bilateral talks with Keir Starmer on his visit to London. He has specified that at the top of his list are Bangladesh’s efforts to recover funds allegedly embezzled by Awami League figures in Sheikh Hasina’s regime and stored in assets abroad. The UK National Crime Agency has frozen around £90 million worth of London properties linked to that regime, including one which was according to the electoral register occupied by Tulip Siddiq’s mother…
The leader has recently discussed the possibility of extraditing Tulip Siddiq in order for her to face charges brought against her by the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission, which is investigating claims that Siddiq and four Hasina family members embezzled £4 billion in a nuclear plant deal. Other charges relate to allegedly corrupt property handovers. For her part, she strenuously denies any and all wrongdoing, as have her lawyers. Things could get awkward for Starmer during this meeting…
Any decision to extradite Siddiq would have to be approved personally by Yvette Cooper after a formal request from Bangladesh. Which says it is considering asking Interpol to issue a ‘red notice’ for Tulip…
Bangladeshi authorities say that wider “discussions with the UK government will be initiated during the chief adviser’s visit to seek cooperation on money recovery.” Bangladesh’s government is intensely focussed on this issue and expects action from the PM…
The National Crime Agency last night confirmed that it had frozen two London properties owned by the son of Salman Rahman – a close ally of ousted Bangladeshi dictator Sheikh Hasina – “as part of an ongoing civil investigation.” A spokesperson for Rahman denies “any involvement in any alleged wrongdoing in the strongest possible terms”…
The Financial Times also reports:
“Sheikh Rehana, the sister of Sheikh Hasina and mother of former UK City minister Tulip Siddiq, has lived at the Gresham Gardens property, according to UK electoral roll records, though it is not clear whether she still resides there.”
Salman and Ahmed are suspects in embezzlement investigations by the Bangladeshi Anti-Corruption Commission. This step by the NCA is significant as it is the first move to freeze assets owned by Hasina allies in London, which are allegedly worth many billions of pounds…
According to press reports National Crime Agency staff travelled to Dhaka for a secret meeting with the Bangladeshi ACC’s investigators this year. According to those reports they agreed to assist authorities in their investigations, including into allegations relating to Tulip Siddiq. The ACC has lodged charges against Siddiq in Dhaka. For her part, she strenuously denies any and all wrongdoing, as have her lawyers. Its chairman said last month:
“If we cannot get her using regular methods… or if she becomes a fugitive, then we will definitely designate her absconding. In that case, the government of that country will be informed by issuing a red notice through Interpol.”
This is not the only assistance the UK government is providing to Yunus’ interim Bangladesh government. UK and Bangladeshi authorities are working together to probe the scandals surrounding Hasina…
The Anti-Corruption Commission in Bangladesh, which produced charges against Tulip Siddiq leading to her arrest warrant, says it has ‘summoned’ Siddiq for questioning at their offices. Siddiq previously told Sky News her lawyers were “ready” to handle any formal questions about corruption allegations in Bangladesh..
Siddiq, who along with her lawyers denies all wrongdoing and corruption allegations, has been requested to appear at the ACC’s offices at 10 a.m. on 14 May with regard to a “case filed alleging that Tulip received a luxury flat in the capital’s Gulshan area from the real estate developer Eastern Housing Limited without making any payment.”
This falls after the arrest deadline of 12 May set by Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judges’ Court. Siddiq’s lawyers have previously indicated they have no intention of her appearing before the courts in the country. Bangladeshi authorities not letting up…
A spokesman for Tulip tells Guido: “If this is serious process not a political smear campaign why won’t the ACC engage with Tulip Siddiq’s lawyers who have written to them twice over the last few weeks? She is a UK citizen, living in London and representing her constituents in the British Parliament. She is yet to hear anything officially but they know where to reach her – and that’s clearly not in Dhaka.” Bangladeshi authorities say they are treating Siddiq as a Bangladeshi citizen…
The date for the implementation of arrest warrants against Tulip Siddiq and 17 other Sheikh Hasina-linked individuals (including Hasina herself) has been extended by the court in Bangladesh. Arrest warrants were issued earlier this month in relation to three separate cases involving the alleged corrupt allocation of land in Dhaka…
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Zakir Hossain Galib has now set 12 May as the new date for a report submission. This is when arrest warrants must be implemented or the accused must appear in court. The trial will begin subsequently…
The latest defence issued by Siddiq’s lawyers, who deny all allegations levelled by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission, accuses Bangladesh authorities of failing to contact the MP directly. The ACC says it sent letters to Tulip’s alleged address in Dhaka…
“Such behaviour is a clear breach of international norms and indicative of the way that Ms Siddiq is going to be treated by the ACC and the Bangladesh authorities.”
That is a clear implication that Siddiq’s lawyers have no intention of her appearing before the court in Bangladesh. Either way a sitting UK MP is issuing defences against proceedings against her in an overseas jurisdiction – a bizarre situation. If it comes down to extradition proceedings it will be Yvette Cooper who makes the final decision…
Things are moving since a court in Bangladesh issued an arrest warrant for Tulip Siddiq – Judge Mohammad Jakir Hossain has set 27 April as the implementation date for the warrant. The Anti-Corruption Commission, which brought the charges, says it is taking steps to bring Siddiq back to Bangladesh…
Siddiq has always claimed she was never contacted by Bangladeshi authorities – the answer to that mystery has appeared this morning. The ACC says it delivered three separate notices to the MP’s Dhaka address over two months seeking her statement on alleged irregularities over land allocations. This is due to the fact she allegedly has a registered address as stated in her National Identity Card and tax records, according to authorities in Bangladesh. Her team has not commented on her alleged possession of dual nationality…
ACC head Hafiz Ahsan Farid has explained their first steps for Siddiq’s return:
“We have sent documents from here to the Ministry of Home Affairs which is called a Mutual Legal Assistance Request (MLAR). It will go to the foreign embassy through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From there it will go to the Bangladesh embassy. We have started that work. The ACC has started the process to bring them back. A case has been filed against her as a Bangladeshi citizen… We do not consider her a foreign citizen. When the case was filed she was staying abroad. Initiatives will be taken to bring her back.”
Siddiq and her lawyers deny all wrongdoing. The ACC has said it would consider requesting an Interpol red notice for arrest if it was forced to do so. If things come to extradition proceedings it will be for Yvette Cooper to decide Siddiq’s fate…
Robert Jenrick on the Today programme:
“Can you now give a guarantee to your listeners this morning that no BBC presenter in the future will be exposed as a paedophile, as a number have been in the recent past? No, of course you can’t…”