“In this context, her tax files have been seized. The investigating officer will analyse the documents and prepare a report, which will be submitted for commission approval before being forwarded to court for trial.”

Tulip, a former UK City minister, does not respond to The Country Today' s specific queries.

Her spokesperson repeats the earlier claim, accusing the Bangladesh government of spreading “false information”.

‘INCOSISTENCIES’

The ACC says Tulip submitted returns for the 2006–07 to 2018–19 tax years, with none filed afterwards.

Among the 87 pages of documents, each return from 2006 to 2015 included an expenditure entry titled “Advance towards developers” amounting to 500,000 taka.

The ACC investigation found that Tulip “concealed” ownership of her Gulshan flat in her tax filings, instead declaring advance payments to a housing company.

But deed no. 14071, registered on Oct 30, 2002, at the Gulshan Sub-Registry Office, shows she was already in possession as the legal owner.

In her tax return for the 2015–16 year, Tulip claimed to have gifted the Gulshan flat (B/201, Plot No NE (A)-11B) to her younger sister, Azmina Siddique Rupanti.

The ACC says that upon reviewing the photocopy of the gift deed (registration number 01, dated Jun 21, 2015), it is notarised by a notary public.

But, under the Registration (Amendment) Act, 2004, immovable property cannot be transferred through a notary public; such transfers must be registered at the sub-registry office.

According to the ACC’s investigation, the deed lists Supreme Court advocate Gazi Sirazul Islam as the attesting notary.

But Sirazul told the graft watchdog that the signature on the deed is not his. He was registered as a notary in 2012 and does not engage in notarial work on a commercial basis.

The ACC, therefore, suspects that Tulip tried to “illicitly” transfer the apartment to her sister by “concealing” its ownership in tax returns and presenting a “false” record of an advance payment to the developer.

According to a memorandum dated May 24 this year (No. 298) from the Assistant Commissioner (Land) Office in Gulshan, no holding or land registration was found under Rizwana’s name at the Gulshan office.

This means that although she was the owner under Deed No. 14071, the flat had not been registered in her name.

Following the mass uprising on Aug 5 last year that led to the fall of the Awami League government, Hasina fled to India with her sister Rehana on the same day.

After the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus took charge, the ACC began investigating allegations of irregularities and corruption against Hasina and her family.

Earlier, on Apr 13, a Dhaka court issued arrest warrants against 53 people, including Hasina, Rehana, Rehana’s children Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby, Tulip, and Azmina, over alleged abuse of power and irregularities in securing a 30-katha plot in Purbachal.

On Apr 15, the ACC filed a case accusing Tulip of receiving a flat in Gulshan’s Road 71 -- Unit 11A and 11B, previously B/201 at House 5A and 5B -- as a “bribe” from Eastern Housing, in exchange for arranging the “illicit transfer” of a Dhaka plot.

The case claims she abused her position to acquire the property “without making any payment”.

Two RAJUK officers were also named for allegedly assisting with the registration process that enabled the transfer.

The commission later seized her income tax records as part of the investigation.

Investigators probing “irregularities” in Tulip’s Dhaka and UK properties say the Gulshan plot was first allocated in 1997, during Hasina’s first term in office.

In April this year, British media outlet Daily Mail raised questions about whether Tulip had provided “false information” to the British Parliament about ownership of the flat in Bangladesh.

At the time, the ACC was already investigating the Labour MP in connection with the same property.

Tulip, 42, denied any wrongdoing. She told Daily Mail that the flat had been gifted to her by her parents in 2002 and that she “legally” transferred it to her sister Azmina in May 2015, weeks after being elected to the UK Parliament.

In June 2015, she declared in her MPs’ asset statement at Westminster that she co-owned the property with a family member.

The following month, the flat’s ownership was transferred, according to the statement.

The Daily Mail, however, said its search at the Dhaka Sub-Registry Office found contradictory information.

The documents on record showed Tulip remained the owner, matching the ACC’s allegations.

On Mar 10, the ACC said the notary used to transfer the Gulshan flat to her sister was proven “fake” during the investigation.

The deed shows the Gulshan flat, bought for Tk 2.36 million, was given to Azmina.

The document includes full ownership rights and a parking space transfer.

Earlier, British media reported Tulip obtained an apartment in Central London “for free” from a property developer named Abdul Motalif.

The media also revealed links between the dealer and Tulip’s aunt, Awami League chief Hasina.

Citing a document from the property registration office, the Financial Times reported earlier this year that Tulip acquired a two-bedroom flat near King’s Cross in 2004 without paying any money.

Tulip, currently MP for Hampstead and Highgate in London, resigned as a UK City minister in January amid growing scrutiny over alleged irregularities tied to properties and project dealings in both Bangladesh and the UK.

A summary from the Chief Advisor’s Office (CAO) released in December offered insight into the kind of evidence the ACC had gathered against the Hasina family.

The summary, citing the ACC, said according to information obtained from “open sources”, there were “financial irregularities” amounting to around $5 billion in Bangladesh’s first nuclear power project in Rooppur.

Responding to the growing scrutiny over property and corruption allegations, Tulip accused the Bangladesh government of “a politically motivated smear campaign”.

She and her lawyer rejected all allegations as “false”.

At the end of April, Tulip posted on X that she respects the rule of law in the UK, where she was born and is a member of parliament.

ACC Chairman Mohammad Abdul Momen, however, maintained that the allegations are backed by “evidence”.

“She [Tulip] is accused in three cases, and a fourth is in preparation,” he said.

He cited a report, revealing that Tulip earned Tk 900,000 from a fish farm in Bangladesh in 2013, an income she declared in her tax return.

“Regardless of her claim of being a British citizen, the documentation shows she has earnings in Bangladesh. So, as per the paperwork, she is considered a Bangladeshi national,” Momen said.

“Switching between British and Bangladeshi identities as it suits her is questionable.”

The ACC said the seized tax files contain information about Tulip’s business activities in Bangladesh.

The records show income of Tk 900,000 from a fish farm in the 2013–14 tax year. At that time, income from fish farming was tax-exempt.

In 2006–07, she declared a net profit of Tk 162,500 from business, followed by Tk 195,400 in 2007–08, Tk 215,000 in 2008–09, Tk 220,000 in 2009–10, Tk 216,000 in 2010–11, Tk 240,000 in 2011–12, Tk 265,000 in 2012–13, Tk 385,000 in 2013–14, and Tk 350,000 in 2014–15.

Her 2006–07 return also reported receiving 10 tolas of gold as a gift from her grandfather, valued at Tk 100,000.In 2012–13, the declared gold increased to 30 tolas, but the value remained the same.

TULIP DIDN’T RESPOND

The Country Today sent four specific questions to British MP Tulip seeking her comments on the income tax information and the allegations raised by the ACC.

Tulip, however, did not respond to any of the questions.

The questions were:

1. Are you a citizen of Bangladesh? Have you filed income tax returns in Bangladesh? If so, under what name?

2. The ACC claims that the seized documents include information suggesting you have been involved in operating businesses in Bangladesh. What is your response to this?

3. According to the ACC, the records indicate you transferred ownership of an apartment in Gulshan, Dhaka, to your sister via a notarised deed of gift (hiba), which the commission claims is “fraudulent”. Would you please clarify your position on this allegation?

4. The ACC says that in your tax return for the 2006–07 fiscal year, you reported receiving 10 tolas of gold as a gift from your grandfather, valuing it at Tk 100,000. In the 2012–13 fiscal year, the amount of gold was reported to have increased to 30 tolas, but the value remained unchanged. Could you please explain this discrepancy?

A spokesperson for Tulip, responding to the queries, said Bangladeshi authorities have been levelling “false accusations” against her for nearly a year.

“This smear campaign has consisted of copious briefings to the media, the failure to respond to any legal letters, and the failure to even ask to meet with and question Ms Siddiq during the ACC’s recent visit to the United Kingdom are impossible to justify and completely inconsistent with a fair, lawful, and serious investigation.

“In all of the circumstances, the time has now come for the chief advisor and the ACC to abandon their wholly misconceived and unlawful campaign to smear Ms Siddiq's reputation and interfere with her public service.”