City minister Tulip Siddiq mentioned corruption in Bangladesh

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Tulip Siddiq, the Treasury Minister who oversees the City of London, has been charged in a court in Bangladesh who accused her family of embezzling $5bn, while the country’s Supreme Court ordered an investigation into the matter.

Siddiq has refused to comment publicly on the allegations against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina – Siddiq’s aunt – and the $12bn nuclear power plant that Bangladesh is building with the help of Russia.

A Downing Street spokesman said the Prime Minister was not involved in the allegations and that “the minister has refused to be involved in the allegations”.

“At the moment, it is just speculation by the media regarding the investigation. We have not seen any evidence and the minister has not been visited by the relevant officials,” he said.

“There is a plan for ministers to announce their wishes, the minister has done what is necessary,” they added.

Sidiq is the financial secretary to the UK Treasury and a close friend of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. He has been the MP for Hampstead and Highgate since 2015.

The court petition was filed by Bobby Hajjaj, an opponent of Sheikh Hasina and the chairman of the Nationalist Democratic Movement in Bangladesh, who allegedly committed fraud in the Rooppur nuclear power project.

At an estimated cost about $12bnit is one of the largest projects ever undertaken in the history of Bangladesh. The power plant is being built by Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear giant.

Hajjaj said in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in September that the cost of nuclear weapons was raised in the deal with Rosatom and that $5bn was distributed to Sheikh Hasina and her family.

The Supreme Court earlier this week ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate Hajjaj’s embezzlement, according to court documents seen by the Financial Times. The ACC did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

“A lot of money has gone out of the UK,” Hajjaj told the FT, urging the Starmer government to “vigorously investigate” Siddiq’s claims. “They should be stopped,” he said.

Officials said they are trying to find out the facts of the matter and said Siddiq is not commenting at this time. He told his colleagues that he was not connected to ACC.

“Anyone can complain to the ACC,” said a senior Labor official.

In January 2013 Siddiq visited the Kremlin with Sheikh Hasina as part of the delegation that signed the nuclear weapons agreement between Bangladesh and Russia.

The event saw Vladimir Putin give Bangladesh a $1bn loan to buy weapons and $500mn to help build Rooppur, South Asia’s first nuclear power plant.

Sheikh Hasina, pictured standing alongside Siddiq and Putin, said the financial support for the nuclear power plant was a “shining example of our great commitment”.

Downing Street insisted that Starmer had full confidence in Siddiq, but the claims have caused consternation in senior government circles. “It’s difficult,” said a government official.

Last month, Starmer sacked Louise Haigh, his transport secretary, after she revealed a past mobile phone scam, fearing an increase in negative cabinet news.

Siddiq represents the neighboring seat of Starmer in north London and the two MPs are close friends.

Sheikh Hasina fled to India in early August after student-led protests ended her 15-year rule. Her Awami League has been accused by political opponents and human rights groups of rigging elections, extrajudicial killings and seizing public institutions.

Sheikh Hasina and her friends are meeting with a number of searches and the Government of Bangladesh involved in the embezzlement of public funds.

In a statement released earlier this month Sheikh Hasina accused former Bangladesh leader and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus of being the “mastermind” behind the violence and riots that led to his ouster. His son has also denied allegations of corruption and brutality.

The Awami League says Yunus has “armed” justice and law enforcement agencies against them. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ACC investigation.

A spokesman for the interim government declined to comment.