NEW DELHI: Former Labour minister Tulip Siddiq, the niece of Sheikh Hasina, has accused Bangladeshi authorities of launching a "targeted and baseless" campaign against her and thereby urging an immediate end to what she described as damaging allegations.
In a strong response, Tulip Siddiq's legal representatives have called for an immediate halt to a series of “false and damaging” allegations made against the British Member of Parliament regarding financial irregularities linked to the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant built with the Russian help.
In a letter to the Bangladesh's Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), Siddiq's lawyers from Stephenson Harwood reiterated her position that she had no involvement in the nuclear plant deal, despite being photographed at a signing ceremony in the Kremlin in 2013 alongside then Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The letter said: “It is not uncommon for family members to be invited to accompany Heads of State on state visits.”
The lawyers also dismissed claims that a £700,000 flat in London’s King's Cross, gifted to Siddiq in 2004, was linked to embezzlement, calling the allegations “absurd” as the flat was acquired a full 10 years before the nuclear deal was made.
Siddiq's father was a university professor in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and her mother was granted political asylum in the UK as the younger sister of Sheikh Hasina. In January, Siddiq resigned from her role as economic secretary to the Treasury, where she was responsible for addressing corruption in the UK's financial market.
Meanwhile ACC chairman Mohammad Abdul Momen told the BBC the allegations “are by no means targeted and baseless and its investigation was based on documentary evidence of corruption.”
“I would welcome Siddiq come and defend her case and with the best possible legal support accompanying her," he said.
The controversy began when the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh made public comments to a British television journalist, suggesting that Siddiq may have been involved in embezzlement tied to the Rooppur plant and hinted at the possibility of her being summoned to Bangladesh for questioning. The comments also referred to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) “taking the matter very seriously” and implied that Siddiq had substantial wealth remaining in Bangladesh that would be investigated.
However, Siddiq's legal team has vehemently rejected these accusations, asserting that there is no case against their client. They have called the suggestion that she might be summoned to Bangladesh "completely unjustified" and pointed out that such statements appear to be part of a broader campaign to tarnish her reputation rather than a legitimate investigation.
“Siddiq has no wealth left behind in Bangladesh, and no evidence has been provided to support any of the allegations. The claims made by the Chief Adviser are false and designed to create unwarranted publicity,” her legal representatives said.
The allegations largely stem from a media note released by the ACC in February 2025, which claimed that $5 billion in financial irregularities had been uncovered in the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project. The note also included accusations suggesting that Siddiq, alongside high-profile figures like former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her son Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed Joy, was involved in these irregularities through offshore bank accounts.