Tulip Siddiq to face corruption trial in Bangladesh

Telegraph

3 days ago

Tulip Siddiq will face trial in Bangladesh over allegations she illegally received a plot of land from her despot aunt's government.
The former anti-corruption minister, who was forced to resign earlier this year after the accusations, has been ordered to attend the trial linked to one of the largest housing projects in the country.
Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) believes the former City minister received a 7,200 sq ft plot in the diplomatic zone of Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital, through 'abuse of power and influence'.
If she refuses to attend court on Aug 11, the trial will be held in her absence.
The ACC has opened several investigations into Ms Siddiq, alleging corruption in connection with the government of Sheikh Hasina, her aunt who was ousted as the country's prime minister last year.
But Ms Siddiq has claimed she is the victim of an 'orchestrated campaign' and accused interim leader Prof Muhammad Yunus of 'interfering with UK politics'.
Judge Muhammad Rabiul Alam, of Dhaka Special Judge Court-4, issued the court order on Thursday against 27 people, including Ms Siddiq, Ms Hasina and other family members, as well as several current and former officials of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works.
Judge Alam said the charges related to alleged irregularities in plot allocation under the Purbachal New Town Project operated by the government agency RAJUK.
As none of the accused are in the country, the judge could not read out the charges to them. A court date of Aug 11 has been set for the start of the trial. All of the accused have been ordered to attend, but if they do not, a trial will be held in their absence.
It is unclear if Ms Siddiq will attend. She has not appeared at any of the pre-trial hearings so far, despite being ordered to do so on July 8 and July 20. The court had also previously issued an arrest warrant against Ms Siddiq in April.
All claims denied
Lawyers representing Ms Siddiq said: 'For nearly a year now, the Bangladesh authorities have been making false allegations against Tulip Siddiq. Ms Siddiq has not been contacted or received any official communication from the court and does not and has never owned any plot of land in Purbachal.
'This longstanding politically motivated smear campaign has included repeated briefings to the media, a refusal to respond to formal legal correspondence, and a failure to seek any meeting with or question Ms Siddiq during the recent visit by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to the United Kingdom. Such conduct is wholly incompatible with the standards of a fair, lawful, and credible investigation.
'In light of these facts, it is now time for the Chief Adviser and the ACC to end this baseless and defamatory effort to damage Ms Siddiq's reputation and obstruct her work in public service.'
An ACC official said the court had given adequate opportunities to Ms Siddiq and others to defend themselves, but they chose not to attend the court hearings.
The corruption in the plot allocation is part of a wider investigation into the alleged unlawful allocation of state-owned land to Ms Hasina, the ousted prime minister of Bangladesh, her children and close relatives.
The case is separate from a £4bn embezzlement investigation by the ACC into a nuclear deal struck by Ms Hasina, in which Ms Siddiq had also been named.
The ACC has also alleged Ms Siddiq illegally acquired a flat and then used forged signatures in an attempt to transfer it to Azmina Siddiq Ruponti, her sister.
Investigators claim Ms Siddiq made the transfer to become eligible for a plot in the Purbachal New Town Project, which she later obtained. Under Bangladesh's Allotment of Land Rules, applicants for the scheme must not own any residential property or land in Dhaka.