Tulip Siddiq and the fall of Bangladesh’s most powerful family
The UK’s anti-corruption minister, Tulip Siddiq, has resigned from the government after being named in several corruption investigations in Bangladesh. The allegations extend to several close family members, including Siddiq’s aunt, the deposed Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and her mother, Sheikh Rehana. Hasina faces serious criminal charges after her government was ousted amid widespread political unrest.
Hasina fled Bangladesh on August 5 last year in the wake of massive protests and political turmoil that brought an end to her 15-year rule. Her government is accused of a range of authoritarian practices, including enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
There are also allegations of financial mismanagement on a large scale. Reports indicate that more than 1,500 people were killed and thousands more injured during violent clashes in July and August 2024 that surrounded her fall from power.
The newly formed Bangladeshi government has established an international tribunal to investigate crimes committed during Hasina’s tenure. Legal proceedings are underway to issue warrants for the arrest of Hasina and her family members. These include Siddiq, who may be called to account for her alleged involvement in corruption cases.
Tulip Siddiq’s name has reportedly appeared in two significant corruption investigations, but she has repeatedly denied all the allegations made against her and has referred herself to the prime minister’s adviser on ministerial interests, who is reponsible for determining that ministers comply with government conduct rules. It’s standard behavior for ministers and is in no way an admission of guilt.
“I am clear that I have done nothing wrong,” she wrote in her letter to Sir