Six cases were filed over the allocation of six plots in Purbachal to members of Sheikh Hasina’s family. Tulip Siddiq, the former Bangladesh prime minister’s niece, does not hold a single one of those plots in her name. Yet she was an accused in three of the cases, and on Monday she was convicted in one of them.
Dhaka Special Judge Court-4, presided over by Md Robiul Alam, sentenced the UK parliamentarian and former minister to two years’ imprisonment and fined her Tk 100,000. Failure to pay will result in an additional six months’ imprisonment.
Tulip was convicted on charges that she had used her political influence to secure the allotment of a 10-katha plot in the Purbachal New Town Project of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) in the name of her mother, Sheikh Rehana.
The court found her guilty under section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 and section 109 of the Penal Code.
According to the verdict, witnesses’ statements proved that she had exerted influence by contacting Salauddin, personal secretary to then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, through phone calls, internet applications and direct communication.
While Sheikh Hasina was prime minister, six 10-katha plots in Purbachal were allocated to her family members. In addition to one plot in her own name, allocations were made to her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, daughter Saima Wazed Putul, sister Sheikh Rehana, niece Azmina Siddiq Ruponti, and nephew Radwan Mujib Siddiq. They took possession of the plots in 2022.
This is the first time a Bangladeshi court has issued a conviction against a foreign lawmaker, and a UK legislator. The verdict was delivered in Tulip’s absence.
Following Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in the July Uprising last year, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) launched an inquiry into alleged irregularities in these allocations.
In January, the ACC filed six separate cases over the six plots. Each case alleged that the allocations were made after the official application window had closed, and that the recipients were not eligible because they already owned property within the area of RAJUK’s jurisdiction, making them legally ineligible for new plots or flats.
Sheikh Hasina was accused in all six cases on grounds that she had abused her authority as prime minister. Tulip Siddiq was named as an accused in three cases, those relating to the plots of Sheikh Rehana, Radwan and Azmina.
In the case concerning Sheikh Rehana’s plot, the charge sheet states: “Tulip learnt that her aunt Sheikh Hasina was obtaining 10-katha plots in the Purbachal New Town Project in her own name and in the names of her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and daughter Saima Wazed. Upon learning this, she used her special authority as a British MP to exert pressure on Sheikh Hasina to secure plot allocations for her mother Sheikh Rehana, her sister Azmina Siddiq Ruponti and her brother Radwan Mujib.”
Verdicts have already been delivered in the cases involving Sheikh Hasina, Sajeeb Wazed and Saima Wazed. All have been convicted. Monday’s ruling concerned Sheikh Rehana’s plot. Judgments in the cases involving Radwan and Azmina are still pending; Tulip and Sheikh Hasina are also accused in those cases.
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This is the first time a Bangladeshi court has issued a conviction against a foreign lawmaker, and a UK legislator. The verdict was delivered in Tulip’s absence.
Since the fall of the Awami League government, Tulip, who has also come under pressure in the UK over separate corruption allegations linked to a property in London involving senior Awami League figures.
After Labour Party leader Keir Starmer became prime minister last year, Tulip was appointed City Minister in his cabinet. She later resigned following the emergence of corruption allegations.
The 43-year-old MP has consistently denied all accusations against her. Following the issuance of an arrest warrant in the ACC cases, she stated that she was the target of politically motivated smear campaigns.
Tulip, who represents Hampstead and Highgate in the UK House of Commons, lives in London with her family. A British national of Bangladeshi origin, she was first elected to parliament in 2015 and is now serving her fourth term.