Tulip Siddiq under increasing pressure to resign over property scandal

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newspaper.

UK Home Affairs Minister Tulip Siddiq is under growing pressure to resign after being embroiled in a scandal involving the ousted Bangladeshi government.

The minister, who is responsible for fighting corruption, lives in several houses linked to his aunt, former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party. They are accused of defrauding the country’s banks, although they deny the claims.

“It’s time for Tulip Siddiq to explain where her wealth comes from, and how some of it comes from the proceeds of her aunt’s nefarious dealings,” said shadow home secretary Chris Philp.

He called on Sir Keir Starmer to “remove him from his role as anti-corruption minister until these questions are answered . . . the prime minister’s constant failure to answer any questions, or to take any action, shows that he has no power or integrity.”

While Starmer stood by Siddiq, a senior Labor official told the FT that the party leadership was finding it difficult to protect his financial affairs and that his position was becoming increasingly untenable. “It’s turning into dust,” they said.

The FT revealed on Friday that Siddiq owned a two-bedroom flat near King’s Cross in 2004 without paying for it. The property had been bought three years earlier for £195,000 by Abdul Motalif, a developer with connections to senior Awami League figures. A house on the same property, which Siddiq still owns, was sold for £650,000 in August.

Over the weekend, the Sunday Times first reported that Siddiq was living in a house in Hampstead that had been passed on to his sister by Moin Ghani, now a prominent lawyer representing the Bangladeshi government. led by the Awami League. People with knowledge of Siddiq’s situation have confirmed his living arrangements.

Ghani had previously registered his address as a flat in King’s Cross. He did not respond to a request for comment.

He also rents the £2.1mn house in East Finchley of Abdul Karim, a senior member of the UK wing of the Awami League. He moved to the property, outside his district, shortly after it was purchased in July 2022, according to Land Registry documents.

Siddiq’s partner said he was paying “market rates” and that the landlord-tenant relationship between him and Karim had been properly declared to parliamentary authorities.

Sheikh Hasina was ousted as prime minister last year after student protests and a violent attack. Bangladesh’s interim government has accused officials of taking money from the banking system to acquire assets overseas. They denied the claims.

While maintaining that he has done nothing wrong, Siddiq has given conflicting accounts of how he came to own the King’s Cross property. The Mail on Sunday reported that he initially told reporters that the apartment had been bought by his parents.

A person who knows her situation said: “The first understanding that Tulip had about how she got the land has changed.

The person added that Siddiq’s parents had indeed provided the acquaintance with “financial support” and that the developer had transferred his assets to Siddiq as a “thank you act”.

Siddiq did not pay tax when he got the land because it was a gift and therefore exempted from stamp duty, property purchase tax, said the person.

On Sunday, a person with knowledge of the matter clarified that the financial support that Siddiq’s parents gave to Motalif was paid in full before the transfer of the property. They say that he is therefore not guilty of stamp duty and that he has received legal advice in this regard.

A senior UK official dealing with UK policy on fighting kleptocracy told the FT: “The challenge here is that ‘I got a gift from this guy as a thank you because my family helped him get out of politics’ it is a type of report. . . that we spend our time telling the banks is not enough. ”