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UK city minister Tulip Siddiq is under increasing pressure to resign after becoming embroiled in a scandal linked to the ousted Bangladesh government.
The minister, who is charged with fighting corruption, has lived in multiple properties linked to her aunt, former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party. They have been accused of siphoning funds from the country’s banking system, although they deny the allegations.
“It is time for Tulip Siddiq to explain the source of her wealth and whether any of it comes from the proceeds of her aunt’s alleged corrupt dealings,” said shadow home secretary Chris Philp.
He called on Sir Keir Starmer to “remove her from her role as anti-corruption minister until these questions are answered. . . The prime minister’s continued failure to answer questions or take action shows that he lacks strength or integrity.”
While Starmer is still at Siddiq’s side, a senior Labor official told the FT that the party leadership was finding it “difficult to protect” her personal financial affairs and that her position was becoming untenable. “It’s becoming a millstone,” they said.
The FT revealed on Friday that Siddiq became the owner of a two-bedroom flat near King’s Cross in 2004 without paying for it. The property was bought three years ago for £195,000 by Abdul Motalif, a developer with links to senior Awami League figures. A similar flat to this property, which Siddiq still owns, sold for £650,000 in August.
Over the weekend, the Sunday Times first reported that Siddiq had been living in a different property in Hampstead that had been transferred to her sister by Moin Ghani, now a prominent lawyer who has represented Bangladesh’s Awami League-led government. People with knowledge of Siddiq’s position confirmed her living arrangements.
Ghani had previously registered his address as King’s Cross residence. He did not respond to a request for comment.
She is also renting a £2.1m house in East Finchley owned by Abdul Karim, an executive member of the UK wing of the Awami League. She moved to the property, outside her constituency, shortly after it was bought in July 2022, according to Land Registry files.
An ally of Siddique said she was paying “market rates” and that the landlord-tenant relationship between her and Karim had been properly declared to parliamentary authorities.
Sheikh Hasina was ousted as prime minister last year after student protests and a violent coup. Bangladesh’s interim government has alleged that senior officials of its regime took funds from the banking system to buy properties overseas. They have denied the claims.
While maintaining that she has done nothing wrong, Siddique has given conflicting accounts of how she came to own the property in King’s Cross. The Mail on Sunday reported that she initially told her reporters that the apartment had been bought by her parents.
“Tulip’s previous understanding of how she gained ownership of the property has changed,” said a person with knowledge of her position.
The person added that Siddiq’s parents had actually offered an acknowledgment of “financial support” and that the developer then transferred a property they owned to Siddiq as an “act of gratitude”.
Siddique paid no tax when she acquired the property because it was a gift and thus exempt from stamp duty, a tax on property purchases, the person said.
On Sunday, the person familiar with the details clarified that the financial assistance given by Siddiq’s parents to Motalif was repaid in full before the property was transferred. They said she therefore had no stamp duty and had taken legal advice to that effect.
A senior UK official working on UK anti-kleptocracy policy told the FT: “The challenge here is that ‘I got a gift from this guy as a thank you because my politically exposed family helped him.’ is a type of account. . . that we spend our time telling the banks is not good enough.”
