Dhaka [Bangladesh], December 3 (ANI): Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has addressed media concerns about the trial and sentencing of UK lawmaker Tulip Siddiq.
The ACC said a clear examination of the facts was warranted and that it had conducted a thorough review of all prosecution materials filed against Ms. Siddiq by the independent statutory body. According to the commission, case records show allegations of corruption tied to the allotment of plots of land in the names of Ms. Siddiq’s aunt, the deposed former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her mother Sheikh Rehana, and other family members. In one pending case, the records indicate Ms. Siddiq herself received a plot during her aunt’s tenure.
Of three cases, the ACC said the first trial has concluded, finding Ms. Siddiq guilty of influencing her aunt to secure land for her mother and siblings. In Special Case No. 18 of 2025 before Special Tribunal No. 5, the prosecution alleged that Ms. Siddiq influenced, coaxed, and persuaded her aunt to abuse her position to obtain plots for Ms. Siddiq’s family. The prosecution examined 32 witnesses, several of whom, under oath, testified that Ms. Siddiq—known to be close to her aunt—used her influence to obtain the allotments. The ACC said their testimony, together with circumstantial evidence of plot allotments in the names of Ms. Siddiq and family members, indicates deep involvement in securing the plots and constitutes abetment under multiple sections of the Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
The ACC noted that Ms. Siddiq also obtained a Gulshan plot (Plot No. CWN (A)-27, later changed to Plot No. 05, Block NE(A), Gulshan, Flat No. B/201, House Nos. 5A and 5B, now renumbered as 115 and 11B, Road No. 71, Gulshan-2) by abusing influence over her aunt. The commission emphasized that these are highly valuable urban plots in one of Dhaka’s most expensive areas — not remote farmland — large enough for substantial homes or apartment buildings. It said government-owned land intended for housing to ease Dhaka’s population pressures was instead allocated to those close to the Prime Minister, contributing to familial wealth accumulation.
The ACC also linked Ms. Siddiq to five London properties purchased with assistance from offshore companies, raising the question of how public figures acquire resources to buy multiple properties in two major capitals. The commission said it sought answers from Ms. Siddiq but she was tried in absentia. The ACC rejected Ms. Siddiq’s claim that she could not respond to charges, asserting she was afforded the opportunity to attend and present her case but declined to attend or be represented.
Taken together, the ACC stated these facts demonstrate Ms. Siddiq’s continued involvement in aiding and abetting corruption under Bangladeshi law and asserted there is no basis to suggest she was not involved or innocent of the charges.
British lawmaker Tulip Siddiq described the Bangladeshi court process, which sentenced her in absentia to two years in prison, as “flawed and farcical” and said the verdict should be treated with contempt. “This whole process has been flawed and farcical from the beginning to the end. The outcome of this kangaroo court is as predictable as it is unjustified,” she told a British-Canadian newspaper on Monday. (ANI)
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