Bangladesh orders banks to assist UK minister graft probe
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Bangladeshi banks have been instructed to furnish any financial records relating to Ms Tulip Siddiq.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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DHAKA - Bangladesh money laundering investigators have ordered the country’s big banks to hand over details of transactions relating to British anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq in an ongoing graft probe, officers told AFP.
Ms Siddiq is the niece of former Bangladeshi premier Sheikh Hasina, who fled the country in August 2023
The national anti-corruption commission in December launched a probe into the alleged embezzlement by Ms Hasina’s family of US$5 billion (S$6.8 billion) connected to a Russian-funded nuclear power plant.
Two officials from the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Bangladeshi banks have been instructed to furnish any financial records relating to Ms Siddiq.
A BFIU document issued on Jan 8 and seen by AFP showed that banks had also been told to provide transaction records for Ms Hasina, her son and daughter, Ms Siddiq’s two siblings and her mother, Sheikh Rehana.
The kickback allegations relate to the US$12.65 billion Rooppur nuclear plant, which was bankrolled by Moscow with a 90 per cent loan.
“The claims of kickbacks, mismanagement, money laundering, and potential abuse of power raise significant concerns about the integrity of the project and the use of public funds”, the anti-corruption commission said in December when announcing the probe.
The order came a day after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer revealed that Ms Siddiq had referred herself to his standards adviser
Ms Siddiq insists she has done nothing wrong, and a spokesman for Mr Starmer said he retains “full confidence” in her.
The referral came after the Sunday Times and Financial Times newspapers reported that she had lived in properties linked to Ms Hasina’s administration.
Ms Siddiq wrote in her letter to ministerial standards watchdog Laurie Magnus: “In recent weeks I have been the subject of media reporting, much of it inaccurate, about my financial affairs and my family’s links to the former government of Bangladesh.”
“I am clear that I have done nothing wrong,” she added. “However, for the avoidance of doubt, I would like you to independently establish the facts about these matters.”
Ms Hasina, 77, fled Bangladesh by helicopter on Aug 5, shortly before protesters stormed her palace in the capital Dhaka.
She remains in neighbouring India, but the interim government that replaced her has demanded her extradition to face trial for the police killing of protesters during the revolt against her regime. AFP
