A Dhaka court has mandated Bangladeshi authorities to formally petition Interpol for an international arrest warrant against British Parliament member Tulip Siddiq, escalating a high-profile corruption investigation. The ruling issued Thursday by Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Mohammed Sabbir Faiz responds to petitions from Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission alleging Siddiq exploited political connections to manipulate a premium real estate allocation in Dhaka’s affluent Gulshan district.
The case represents the fourth legal action against Siddiq, who previously received a six-year prison sentence in three separate corruption proceedings. All cases connect to her familial relationship with former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Siddiq’s maternal aunt whose 15-year administration collapsed during the 2024 student-led revolution. Hasina currently resides in exile in India since August 5, 2024.
Siddiq, who represents London’s Hampstead and Highgate constituency, maintains her innocence and dismisses the allegations as ‘a complete farce.’ She emphasizes her exclusive British citizenship and denies Bangladeshi nationality. The political context underscores the nation’s ongoing power transition, with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman—son of Hasina’s historic rival Khaleda Zia—assuming leadership following February elections supervised by interim leader Muhammad Yunus.
The development follows Siddiq’s January resignation as economic secretary to the Treasury in Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet, where she cited mounting distractions from her governmental duties despite having been ‘cleared of wrongdoing.’ Anti-Corruption Commission Assistant Director A.K.M. Mortuza Ali Sagar formally sought the Interpol intervention to enable international apprehension efforts.