UK minister Tulip Siddiq under scrutiny over ties to former Bangladeshi PM

The filings 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 PM and Siddiq's aunt

By Kwaku Gyasi

 

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. 

Siddiq received a two-bedroom apartment near King’s Cross in 2004 without making a payment or it, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing previously unreported Land Registry filings. 

 

The filings 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. Hasina was ousted in August and fled the country amid protests.

 

 

The revelation is 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.

 

Siddiq didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment sent after regular business hours. “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 told the FT.

 

Motalif confirmed to the newspaper that he had purchased the property but declined to say what he did with it.