Staff Correspondent

The UK City Minister Tulip Siddiq faces growing calls to resign following her involvement in a scandal linked to the ousted government of Bangladesh. Tulip, who has responsibility for fighting corruption, has lived in multiple properties linked to her aunt, the former prime minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party.

They have been accused of siphoning funds from the country’s banking system, although they deny the claims. “It is high 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 continual failure to answer any questions, nor take any action, shows he lacks strength or integrity.” While Starmer is still standing by Siddiq, a senior Labour official told the FT that the party’s leadership was finding it “hard to defend” her personal financial affairs and that her position was growing 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 had been purchased three years earlier for £195,000 by Abdul Motalif, a developer with links to senior Awami League figures. An apartment similar to this property, which Siddiq still owns, was sold for £650,000 in August.

Over the weekend, the Sunday Times first reported that Siddiq had lived at a different property in Hampstead that had been transferred to her sister by Moin Ghani, now a prominent lawyer who has represented the Bangladesh government led by the Awami League. People with knowledge of Siddiq’s position confirmed her living arrangements. Ghani had previously registered his address as the King’s Cross flat. He did not respond to a request for comment.

She is also renting a £2.1mn home in East Finchley owned by Abdul Karim, an executive member of the UK wing of the Awami League. She moved into the property, outside her constituency, shortly after it was bought in July 2022, according to Land Registry filings. An ally of Siddiq said she was paying “market rates” and that the relationship as landlord and tenant between her and Karim had been declared properly to the parliamentary authorities.

Sheikh Hasina was removed as prime minister last year following student protests and a violent crackdown. Bangladesh’s interim government has alleged that senior officials from her regime siphoned funds from the banking system to acquire properties overseas.

They have denied the claims. While maintaining she has done nothing wrong, Siddiq has provided contradictory explanations for how she came to possess the property in King’s Cross. The Mail on Sunday reported that she initially told its journalists the flat 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 in fact provided an acquaintance with “financial support” and that the developer subsequently transferred a property they owned to Siddiq as an “act of gratitude”.

Siddiq did not pay any taxes when she acquired the property because it was a gift and so exempt from stamp duty, a tax on property purchases, the person said. On Sunday, the person familiar with the details clarified that the financial support Siddiq’s parents provided to Motalif was repaid in full before this property was transferred. They said she therefore did not owe any stamp duty and had received legal advice to that effect.

A senior UK official working on UK policy in countering kleptocracy told the FT: “The challenge here is that ‘I got a gift from this guy out of gratitude because my politically exposed family helped him out’ is the sort of account . . . that we spend our time telling banks is not good enough.”

Source : Financial Times