The UK’s Minister for Anti-Corruption Reports Herself to Ethics Watchdog for Connections to Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister

British Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq has referred herself to the U.K. government’s ethics watchdog after reports that she lived in London properties connected to her aunt, the ousted Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Siddiq has been named in an anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh regarding a 2013 deal with Russia for a nuclear power plant, in which large sums of money were allegedly embezzled by her family. Reports in the Sunday Times and Financial Times newspapers alleged that she had been given two London apartments by associates of the Bangladesh Awami League, led by Hasina. Hasina was ousted in August 2024 amid mass protests, and Siddiq is facing questions about her connections to the regime. Despite maintaining her innocence, Siddiq has asked the watchdog to independently establish the facts. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has expressed confidence in Siddiq, who is responsible for tackling corruption in financial markets. Siddiq, 42, was elected as a lawmaker in north London in 2015 and was set to join a U.K. government delegation to China, but will now remain in Britain as the investigation continues.

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