Minister refers herself to ethics watchdog over corruption claims and links to deposed Bangladeshi PM
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Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq will be investigated by standards watchdog Sir Laurie Magnus amid questions over her aunt Sheikh Hasina, who was removed from power in Bangladesh after protests against her rule last year. A member of Sir Keir Starmer’s top team has referred herself to the government’s independent ethics adviser over her links to the deposed prime minister of Bangladesh.
![[Ms Siddiq was living in a property given to her sister for free by an ally of her aunt’s regime]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/06/10/tulip-siddiq-azmina-siddique-Radwan-Mujib-Siddiq.jpg)
Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq, who is responsible for tackling financial crime, will be investigated by standards watchdog Sir Laurie Magnus amid questions over her aunt Sheikh Hasina, who was removed from power after protests against her rule last year.
![[Sheikh Hasina, the now deposed prime minister of Bangladesh and aunt of Ms Siddiq, pictured during a 2014 visit to London (Oli Scarff/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/19/13/b5a4556531091c9ad3cbd9f3b01fbe9cY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM0Njk4NjM0-2.20465215.jpg)
Questions have been swirling around Ms Siddiq since she was named in a probe launched by the new Bangladeshi government’s anti-corruption commission. She is alleged to have helped her aunt siphon off £5.2bn intended to be used building eight large-scale projects including a nuclear power plant.
She faced fresh scrutiny over the weekend as it emerged she was given a central London flat by a person connected with Hasina’s Awami League party, and that she lived in a property in Hampstead, north London, that was given to her sister for free by an ally of her aunt’s regime.
Amid growing pressure on Ms Siddiq to resign, Sir Keir confirmed she had referred herself to the standards advisor, who investigates potential breaches of the ministerial code and can advise the PM on sanctions for those in breach. At a press conference on Monday, Sir Keir said: “Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely properly by referring herself to the independent adviser, as she has now done.
