LONDON – A British Treasury minister has referred herself to the UK government’s ethics watchdog following reports that she was living in properties in London linked to her aunt Sheikh Hasina, the ousted prime minister of Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that Treasury economic secretary Tulip Siddiq “acted entirely appropriately” in referring to her independent adviser on ministerial standards.
Siddiq, responsible for fighting corruption in financial markets, was named last month in an anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh against Hasina. The investigation alleged that Siddiq’s family was involved in negotiating a 2013 deal with Russia for a nuclear power plant in Bangladesh in which large sums of money were said to have been embezzled.
The minister faced further questions about her links to her aunt’s regime after reports in the Sunday Times and Financial Times newspapers claimed she had used two flats in London given to her by associates of the Hasina-led Bangladesh Awami League.
Hasina was Bangladesh’s longest-serving prime minister and ruled the country for 15 years until August 2024, when she was overthrown amid a mass uprising in which hundreds of protesters were killed and thousands injured. Hasina, who fled to India, faces many prosecutions over the deaths, including some on charges of crimes against humanity.
Siddiq, 42, maintains he has done nothing wrong in his letter to the ministerial standards watchdog, adding: “For the avoidance of doubt, I would like you to independently establish the facts on these matters.”
Starmer said he had confidence in Siddiq, 42, who was elected as a lawmaker in north London in 2015. She was due to join a UK government delegation to China later this week, but will now remain in Britain.