LABOUR MP Tulip Siddiq was one of more than 50 people named in an arrest warrant issued in Bangladesh. The warrant was drawn up by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The ACC has been investigating allegations made against Bangladesh’s deposed Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted from office last August after protests led by students. Ms Siddiq has been included in the investigation as she is Hasina’s niece and because allegations have been made that she received land which Hasina obtained illegally – allegations which Ms Siddiq has denied.
The allegations, put forward by Bobby Hajjaj, a political opponent of Sheikh Hasina, claim that she and her family embezzled up to £3.9 billion from infrastructure projects constructed in Bangladesh. In particular it is alleged that Ms Siddiq helped set up an agreement for Russia to build a nuclear power plant in Banglades. Ms Siddiq was pictured with her aunt and her mother (Hasina’s sister) on a visit to Vladimir Putin in 2013. Hasina’s opponents see this as proof that Ms Siddiq was involved in the deal. Ms Siddiq’s supporters say that she and her mother took the opportunity of Prime Minister Hasina being in Europe to visit her – and the meeting with Putin took place by chance.
The ongoing investigation is an embarassment for Labour. Ms Siddiq served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury when Keir Starmer’s Government was elected. She resigned from the post at the start of this year as media coverage of the corruption investigation continued – in order not to be a distraction from the work of the Goverment. The warrant is an escalation which shows that the story has not gone away.
When the corruption allegtions against Ms Siddiq were first made, she referred herself to the Prime Minister’s ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus. He looked into the allegations and said that he could not find evidence of “improprieties”. However, he also said that it was regrettable that Ms Siddiq had not given greater consideration to the “potential reputational risks” inherent in her relationship with her aunt.
The UK has an extradition agreement with Bangladesh which requires any request by Bangladesh for extradition of anyone in the UK to be accompanied by clear evidence. Ms Siddiq’s lawyers have said that the ACC has not shown Ms Siddiq any evidence – or even informed her that she has been listed in the warrant. They claim that the charges against her are politically motivated rather than being based on evidence.
Extradition requests are assessed by the courts, but the final decision lies with the Home Secretary. It would be impossible for the Home Secretary to take a decision on a request for extradition of an MP without facing allegations that she had a conflict of interests. That may lead to calls for Ms Siddiq to resign as an MP too.
The new development may also lead to more problems for Labour Leader Keir Starmer. During the election campaign, he suggested that Bangladeshi people in the UK could be returned to Bangladesh, as it is a safe country – a very questionable assertion. That was while Hasina’s regime was in its last weeks in office. If he trusted the Hasina Government to uphold the human rights of citizens, would he trust the current regime to give Ms Siddiq and her co-accused a fair trial? Or would he protect Ms Siddiq and risk damaging the UK’s relationship with Bangladesh?
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