The previous City minister Tulip Siddiq has asked to meet Bangladeshs leader during his London check out to clear up a misconception after corruption claims made by his administration led her to resign from the UK government.Siddiq, whose auntie Sheikh Hasina was put on trial in absentia last week over crimes against mankind during her 15 years as prime minister, has been accused of gaining from the former routine by the authorities in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.A series of accusations have actually been aired in the media including the claim from the countrys anti-corruption commission (ACC) that Siddiq or her mother had gotten a 7,200 sq ft plot of land through abuse of power and influence.Siddiq rejects the claims which her attorneys have actually referred to as being politically motivated and without structure.
She further claims not to have been called by the authorities over any of the allegations.She was cleared of any misbehavior by the advisor on ministerial standards, Laurie Magnus, but resigned as financial secretary to the Treasury and city minister over the distraction being caused for Keir Starmers new government.In a letter to Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel prize-winning financial expert who is the interim leader of the Bangladeshi government, Siddiq has actually requested for a chance to talk about the continuous controversy during his see to London next week where he will satisfy King Charles and see Keir Starmer in Downing Street.In her letter, Siddiq writes that she hopes a meeting may assist clear up the misunderstanding perpetuated by the anti-corruption committee in Dhaka that I have questions to address in relation to my moms sister, the previous prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina.View image in fullscreenSheikh Hasina at the prime ministers house in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Picture: Mohammad Ponir Hossain/ReutersShe continued: I am a UK person, born in London and representing the people of Hampstead and Highgate in parliament for the last decade.I have no residential or commercial property nor any organization interests whatsoever in Bangladesh.
The nation is dear to my heart however it is not the country where I was born, reside in or have actually developed my career in.I have sought to clarify this to the ACC however they decline to engage with my lawyers in London and apparently keep sending correspondence to a random address in Dhaka.Siddiq added: Every relocation in this fantasy investigation is briefed to the media, and yet no engagement was facilitated with my legal team.I know youll value how important it is to guarantee those reports do not become a distraction from the crucial work of doing my absolute best for my constituents and my country.The ACC has actually been probing claims that Sheikh Hasina and her larger family embezzled billions of pounds from infrastructure costs based upon a series of claims made by Bobby Hajjaj, a political opponent of the former prime minister.Siddiq has actually declared she is being targeted by a politically determined character assassination orchestrated by her aunties opponents.Last month it was reported that a warrant had been provided in Bangladesh for Siddiqs arrest.She claims to have no understanding of any such warrant or court hearings to which she was required to appear.
As a 2B extradition nation, the UK requires ministers and judges to see clear proof from Bangladesh before they make an arrest decision.After Siddiq had actually referred herself to the adviser on ministerial standards in 2015 amid accusations about her acquirement of home in the UK, she was cleared in January of any wrongdoing.Magnus had actually found no proof to suggest that any of Siddiqs assets were derived from anything other than legitimate methods however included that she might have been more conscious the reputational threats emerging from her households ties to Bangladesh.The inquiry had likewise checked out her presence at the finalizing of a 2013 nuclear offer between her aunt and Vladimir Putin in Moscow over which there had actually been claims aired in the media of embezzlement by Siddiq.
The standards consultant accepted her description that she had actually been in Moscow socially and as a tourist.Last month the National Crime Agency froze practically 90m of high-end London home coming from two men connected to Siddiqs aunt.Shafiqul Alam, the Bangladeshi leaders representative, said his government had actually not yet gotten Siddiqs letter although it is understood to have actually been emailed and posted by the formers ministers attorneys.
We can not discuss something we have not seen, he stated.