Tulip Siddiq may sue ACC

British Labour MP Tulip Siddiq, convicted in absentia by a Bangladeshi court in a corruption case linked to the allocation of government land plots, is considering legal action against the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), according to Hindustan Times.

Citing a person close to her, the Indian daily reported that the niece of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, is “taking legal advice” on pursuing action against the Bangladeshi authorities.

A Dhaka court on Dec 1 last year sentenced her to two years in prison over allegations of corruption linked to the allocation of a 10-katha (nearly 31.25 decimal or 13, 610 square feet) plot in Purbachal New Town Project in the name of her mother, Sheikh Rehana.

The Fourth Special Judges’ Court also sentenced Rehana to seven years and Hasina to five years in jail in the same case.

Tulip resigned from her post as a junior minister in the UK government in January amid criticism over reports that she had received a £700,000 flat in London as a “gift” from a developer allegedly linked to her family and the Awami League following the fall of the Hasina government.

The 43-year-old politician’s name had previously surfaced in allegations of corruption tied to the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project.

Controversy also arose over a flat in Gulshan, which Tulip had transferred to her sister Azmina Siddiq Ruponti in 2015.

The ACC claimed the notary used in the transfer was “fake”.

Tulip, the Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate in London, has consistently denied the allegations.

Her UK-based law firm, Stephenson Harwood, warned the ACC that their client reserves “her rights in full” to take action over what it described as “false and vexatious allegations” and the damage caused to her.

The lawyers described the national anti-graft agency’s actions as an “unlawful campaign” intended “to smear Tulip’s reputation and interfere with her public service”.

ACC Chairman Md Abdul Momen told the BBC that the commission’s investigation was based on documentary evidence.

The Hindustan Times, however, noted that after the court verdict, an ACC prosecutor told journalists that some individuals had implicated Tulip based on what they had heard, contradicting the claim of documentary proof.

Controversy also arose over a flat in Gulshan, which Tulip had transferred to her sister Azmina Siddiq Ruponti in 2015.

The ACC claimed the notary used in the transfer was “fake”.

Tulip, the Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate in London, has consistently denied the allegations.

Her UK-based law firm, Stephenson Harwood, warned the ACC that their client reserves “her rights in full” to take action over what it described as “false and vexatious allegations” and the damage caused to her.

The lawyers described the national anti-graft agency’s actions as an “unlawful campaign” intended “to smear Tulip’s reputation and interfere with her public service”.

ACC Chairman Md Abdul Momen told the BBC that the commission’s investigation was based on documentary evidence.

The Hindustan Times, however, noted that after the court verdict, an ACC prosecutor told journalists that some individuals had implicated Tulip based on what they had heard, contradicting the claim of documentary proof.