Minister Tulip Siddiq caught up in Bangladesh court anti-corruption probe

Published

2 months ago

December 19, 2024

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Labour’s anti-corruption minister has been named in court documents detailing claims her family embezzled billions of pounds from a nuclear power project in Bangladesh.

Economic secretary Tulip Siddiq – who holds responsibility for financial crime and illicit finance – is alleged to have helped co-ordinate meetings with the Russian government regarding the Rooppur nuclear power plant project.

In a court writ seen by Sky News, submitted to the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Ms Siddiq is named alongside her aunt, the former prime minister of Bangladesh Shaikh Hasina.

The documents cite an online news report from August and suggest Ms Siddiq received embezzled funds that came from the artificial inflation of construction costs of the power plant – which was mainly funded by the Russian government.

It’s alleged that $5bn (£3.9bn) was siphoned off from the project’s budget “in collusion with Russian officials”.

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Ms Siddiq has been approached for a response.

The Labour Party and the government declined to comment.

It’s understood that the minister has not been approached by Bangladeshi authorities in relation to the allegations.

A party source suggested the accusations originated from a “spurious American aerospace website”.

Downing Street said Sir Keir Starmer had confidence in Ms Siddiq.

The legal claim has been made by Bobby Hajjaj, a political opponent of Hasina.

Hasina fled Bangladesh in August and resigned as prime minister after a total of twenty years in power.

Her departure followed weeks of deadly protests in the country and the new government has accused Hasina of multiple crimes while in office.

Ms Siddiq was photographed with Hasina in 2013 at a signing ceremony in the Kremlin alongside the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

She was a councillor in the London Borough of Camden at the time.

The Associated Press quoted Russian news agencies reporting that Moscow planned to lend Bangladesh a total of $1.5bn (£1.2bn) to finance the building of nuclear power stations and to buy Russian arms.

The PM’s official spokesperson said Ms Siddiq had “denied any involvement in the claims” of embezzlement and continued to maintain her responsibility as a minister overseeing UK anti-corruption efforts.

Pressed about whether there was any conflict of interest in Ms Siddiq’s involvement in a 2013 Bangladeshi deal with Russia over a nuclear power plant and her ministerial role, the spokesman said: “I can’t speak to events that happened prior to a minister’s time in government.”

Sky News has approached the Bangladeshi Awami League Party – which Sheikh Hasina continues to lead – for comment.

A spokesperson for the party has been quoted saying the embezzlement claims are “fabricated”.

Politics

Trump’s tariffs may lead to savings for Americans through tax cuts: Research

Published

8 hours ago

February 22, 2025

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Trump’s tariffs may lead to savings for Americans through tax cuts: Research

Prior to the 16th Amendment, which was ratified in 1913, the United States did not have a permanent income tax levied on citizens.

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Jess Phillips says there’s ‘no place’ where violence against women ‘doesn’t happen’ – as spiking to become new offence

Published

23 hours ago

February 22, 2025

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Jess Phillips says there's 'no place' where violence against women 'doesn't happen' - as spiking to become new offence

Jess Phillips has said “there is no place” where violence against women and girls “doesn’t happen” – as a new law is set to make spiking a criminal offence.

Earlier on Friday, the government said spiking will now be its own offence with a possible 10-year prison sentence as part of the Crime and Policing Bill, which will be introduced in parliament next week.

It also announced a nationwide training programme to help workers spot and prevent attacks.

Speaking to Sky News correspondent Ashna Hurynag, the safeguarding minister said that while spiking is already illegal under existing laws, the new classification will simplify reporting the act for victims.

“Spiking is illegal – that isn’t in question, but what victims and campaigners who have tried to use the legislation as it currently is have told us is that it’s unclear,” Ms Phillips said.

UK ‘was never safe’ for women

When asked if the UK is becoming a less safe place for women, the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said: “I don’t think it’s becoming less safe, if I’m being honest. I think it was never safe.”

Speaking about a rise in coverage, Ms Phillips said: “We have a real opportunity to use that, the sense of feeling [built by campaigners] in the country, to really push forward political change in this space.”

“The reality is that it doesn’t matter whether it’s the House of Commons or any pub in your local high street – there is no place where violence against women and girls doesn’t happen, I’m afraid,” she added.

Spiking is when someone is given drugs or alcohol without them knowing or consenting, either by someone putting something in their drink or using a needle.

Police in England and Wales received 6,732 reports of spiking in the year up to April 2023 – with 957 of those relating to needle spiking.

London’s Metropolitan Police added that reports of spiking had increased by 13% in 2023, with 1,383 allegations.

As part of the nationwide training programme, a £250,000 government-funded scheme was started last week to teach staff how to spot warning signs of spiking crimes, prevent incidents and gather evidence.

It aims to train 10,000 staff at pubs, clubs and bars for free by April this year.

Alex Davies-Jones, minister for victims and violence against women and girls, said in a statement that “no one should feel afraid to go out at night” or “have to take extreme precautions to keep themselves safe when they do”.

“To perpetrators, my message is clear: spiking is vile and illegal and we will stop you,” he said. “To victims or those at risk, we want you to know: the law is on your side. Come forward and help us catch these criminals.”

Colin Mackie, founder of Spike Aware UK, also said the charity is “delighted with the steps being taken by the government to combat spiking”.

He added: “Spiking can happen anywhere, but these new initiatives are the first steps to making it socially unacceptable and we urge anyone that suspects or sees it happening, not to remain silent.”