UK Minister Under Scrutiny Over Ties to Ousted Bangladesh PM
(Bloomberg) -- UK City Minister Tulip Siddiq is coming under growing scrutiny after reports she was given a central London property by a developer associated with Bangladesh’s former government.
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Siddiq received a two-bedroom apartment near King’s Cross in 2004 without making a payment for it, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing Land Registry filings. The documents show that the apartment was registered to Abdul Motalif, a developer linked to the Awami League, the political party led by Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s former prime minister and Siddiq’s aunt.
Siddiq also used a separate north London property given to her family in 2009 by Moin Ghani, a Bangladeshi lawyer who has represented Hasina’s government, the Sunday Times reported. Hasina was ousted in August and fled the country amid protests.
The revelations are likely to increase pressure on Siddiq, who last month denied any involvement in allegations of corruption after being named in an investigation in the South Asian country. The allegations are also awkward for the UK government because her role as city minister includes responsibility for tackling financial corruption.
“Any suggestion that Tulip Siddiq’s ownership of this property, or any other property is in any way linked to support for the Awami League would be categorically wrong,” a spokesperson for the minister said regarding the Kings’ Cross apartment on Sunday.
Motalif confirmed to the FT that he had purchased the property but declined to say what he did with it. Ghani declined to comment to the Sunday Times.
(Updates with response from Siddiq’s spokesperson in fifth paragraph.)
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