Bangladeshi authorities have requested information on the bank accounts of UK City Minister Tulip Siddique following allegations that her family members embezzled money from the South Asian country.
Bangladesh's Financial Intelligence Unit on Tuesday ordered banks in the country to provide transaction details for all accounts linked to the former ruling family, according to people familiar with the matter.
The directives sent to the banks mentioned, among other things, Siddiq, whose aunt Sheikh Hasina was ousted as Bangladesh's prime minister last year after mass student-led protests.
The minister was named in a Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission investigation last month after a political rival of Sheikh Hasina accused her family, including a friend, of taking a stake in a Russian-backed nuclear energy project, which the family denied.
Tuesday's move represents an escalation of pressure on the ousted leader and her family. In addition to Sheikh Hasina and Siddiq, the orders included five other members of their extended family, including Siddiq's mother, Sheikh Rehana and Hasina's US-based son, Sajeeb Wajid, who were also named in the ACC probe.
It was not immediately possible to contact Sheikh Rehana and Wajid for comment.
After taking power in August, Bangladesh's interim government led by Muhammad Yunus appointed Ahsan Mansoor, a former International Monetary Fund official, to head the country's central bank and begin recovering billions of dollars that the country's new leaders claim were taken out of the banking system and directed to… outside. .
In an interview in October, Mansour said He told FT An estimated 2 trillion taka ($16.7 billion) were taken out of the country after the forced takeover of leading banks by people linked to the Awami League, the political party led by Sheikh Hasina, using methods such as fake loans and inflated import invoices.
One of Siddiq's allies said she only had a bank account in the UK, and no accounts abroad.
“No evidence has been provided for these claims. Tulip has not been contacted by anyone about this matter and completely refutes these allegations,” a spokesperson for Siddiqui said regarding the allegations surrounding the Russia-backed nuclear power plant.
The Financial Times revealed on Friday that a friend became the owner of a two-bedroom flat near King's Cross in 2004 without ever paying for it. He was talented By a developer with links to prominent Awami League figures.
Siddiqa, who was a minister in Sir Keir Starmer's Labor government responsible for fighting corruption in the UK, has lived in several properties linked to her aunt and the Awami League.
Monday friend She pointed out herself To the UK government's advisor on ministerial standards relating to its real estate properties, she confirmed that she had done nothing wrong.
She said in a letter to Sir Laurie Magnus: “In recent weeks, I have been the subject of media reports, most of them inaccurate, about my finances and my family’s relationships with the previous government in Bangladesh.”
“For the avoidance of doubt,” she added. “I would like you to independently establish the facts about these matters. And obviously I will make sure you get all the information you need to do that.”
