BRITISH MP ON CORRUPTION TRIAL – The former minister is accused of illegally receiving land in Bangladesh
Former Labour anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq says she feels like she is ‘in a Kafka-esque nightmare’ as she faces a corruption trial in Bangladesh.
Ms Siddiq, 42, is accused of having obtained plots from her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted as the South Asian country’s Prime Minister last year, through ‘abuse of power and influence’.
The MP for Hampstead and Highgate has labelled the charge as ‘completely absurd’ and is yet to confirm whether she will travel to the country to appear in court in person.
Bangladesh’s new government has been investigating claims that her family embezzled up to £ 3.9 billion from infrastructure spending.
The nation’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) accuses Ms Siddiq of obtaining a 7,200 sq ft plot of land in the Purbachal diplomatic zone of the capital, Dhaka.
Prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam claimed she ‘influenced her aunt to get land properties for family members’.
