Tulip Siddiq, a member of the British parliament and niece of Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, has requested a meeting with the South Asian country’s head of government Muhammad Yunus during his upcoming visit to London to “clear the air” over allegations of corruption against her in her country of origin.
In a letter dated Jun 4, 2024, she wrote:
“I would also like to invite you to join me for lunch or afternoon tea at the House of Commons whilst you are here.”
Tulip said that she and Yunus “share a passion and commitment to public service” and would be interested in hearing his thoughts on trying to “safeguard due-process, good governance, and the rule of law”.
In addition, she said the meeting could also “clear up the misunderstanding perpetuated by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) in Dhaka”.
“I am a UK citizen, born in London and representing the people of Hampstead and Highgate in Parliament for the last decade. 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,” she wrote.
“I have sought to clarify with the ACC but they refuse to engage with my lawyers in London and apparently keep sending correspondence to a random address in Dhaka. Every move in this fantasy investigation is briefed to the media and, yet no engagement was facilitated with my legal team. I know you’ll appreciate how important it is to ensure those reports do not become a distraction from the critical work of doing my very best for my constituents and my country.”
She said she would be extremely grateful to clear up the “confusion” ahead of the meeting and added that she would share rebuttals from her lawyers to the ACC as well as the report from the UK parliamentary standards commissioner.
The British MP has yet to receive any response to the letter from Yunus or his office, a source close to Tulip told bdnews24.com’s London Correspondent Syed Nahas Pasha.
According to the source, Tulip does not understand why the ACC is after her. Instead of contacting her in London, they are sending letters to her address at Dhaka’s Sudha Sadan.
Tulip wants to meet with Yunus and explain everything to him. She has all the papers and wants to show them to him, the source added.
The ACC alleges that Tulip, the Hampstead and Highgate MP who stepped down from a ministerial role earlier this year, was involved in efforts to secure three plots of land in Dhaka’s Purbachal residential development for her UK-based family, allegedly using her influence with her aunt, deposed prime minister Hasina.
The wider investigation involves claims that Hasina’s family misappropriated billions in public funds.
On Apr 13, Tulip was ordered to appear before a special Dhaka court in the capital by Apr 27. Failing to do so would result in an arrest warrant against the British lawmaker.
When she did not, an arrest warrant was issued against her. Arrest warrants have also been issued for Tulip’s mother, Rehana, and her siblings, all of whom deny the allegations.
Despite public accusations, Tulip’s lawyers claim no official documentation or charges have been shared with her, nor has she been contacted by authorities.
In their correspondence, Tulip’s legal team from Stephenson Harwood condemned what they called an “orchestrated campaign” to damage her reputation, accusing the ACC of media leaks and unlawful threats of an Interpol Red Notice.
The firm described the ACC’s actions as “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”.