The British minister responsible for financial services and fighting corruption resigned on Tuesday after weeks of questions about her financial ties to her aunt Sheikh Hasina, ousted last year as prime minister of Bangladesh.
Tulip Siddiq, 42, had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last week he had full confidence in her.
The resignation of a second government minister in two months is a blow to Starmer, whose approval ratings have plummeted since his Labor Party won the general election in July.
Siddiq was given the financial services policy portfolio after the election, a role that included responsibility for anti-money laundering measures.
In a statement, Siddiq said that although an investigation into his financial affairs found that he had not breached the ministerial code of conduct, his position was “likely a distraction from government work.”
“That is why I have decided to resign from my ministerial position,” he said. Starmer quickly appointed Emma Reynolds, who was pensions minister, to Siddiq’s position.
Hasina, who has ruled Bangladesh since 2009, is being investigated there on suspicion of corruption and money laundering. Hasina and her party deny wrongdoing.
Siddiq was named in December as part of Bangladesh’s investigation into whether her family was involved in diverting funds from Bangladeshi infrastructure projects.
The anti-corruption commission alleged financial irregularities worth billions of dollars in the award of a nuclear power contract worth $12.65 billion, saying Hasina and Siddiq could have benefited.
After facing increased scrutiny over the use of properties in Britain linked to Hasina and her supporters, Siddiq referred to the government’s independent ethics adviser.
Siddiq lived in a north London property that Moin Ghani, a Bangladeshi lawyer who has represented Hasina’s government, gave to his family in 2009, documents filed with Companies House and the Land Registry show.
He also acquired a separate property in London in 2004, without paying for it, from a developer linked to the Awami League, Hasina’s political party, the Financial times reported this month.
Hasina fled Bangladesh after being overthrown following weeks of protests.
Siddiq’s departure follows the resignation of British Transport Minister Louise Haigh at the end of last year. Haigh admitted to a misdemeanor before entering government, involving a cell phone he had wrongly reported stolen.
