UK anti-corruption minister accused of taking £4bn bribe for Russia-funded nuclear plant in Bangladesh
The UK's anti-corruption minister and members of her family are being investigated over allegedly taking bribes of up to £4bn ($5.4bn) linked to a Russia-funded nuclear plant deal in Bangladesh.
Tulip Siddiq MP is the Treasury's economic secretary, tasked with tackling corruption in Britain's financial sector, and is also the niece of Sheikh Hasina, the former Bangladeshi prime minister who was ousted in August.
Siddiq previously worked as spokesperson for the UK branch of her aunt's party, the Awami League.
It emerged this week that Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched an investigation into Siddiq, her UK-based mother Sheikh Rehana Siddiq, and Hasina herself.
The former prime minister is in India, having fled there from Bangladesh in August after her security forces killed hundreds of civilians during violent anti-corruption demonstrations.
The Bangladeshi High Court heard claims that the British minister may have helped Hasina "broker" a £10bn deal for a nuclear power plant built in Bangladesh by a Russian state-backed company, Rosatom.
In 2013 while a Labour councillor, Siddiq attended the signing of the deal inside the Kremlin - alongside Hasina and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The ongoing ACC investigation into the alleged embezzlement of billions of pounds intended for the building of the power plant and other projects is based on allegations by Bobby Hajjaj, a senior political opponent of the former Bangladeshi prime minister.
Middle East Eye contacted Siddiq for comment but was referred to the Labour Party's press office, which said she has not been contacted on the matter.
Syed Faruk, who runs the UK branch of the Awami League party, for which Tulip Siddiq was formerly spokesperson, said the claims were "fabricated".
An ACC official told the Daily Mail that the commission "is committed to ensuring transparency and accountability, irrespective of the stature of those involved".
Several other family members and former Bangladeshi officials are also under investigation as part of the investigation.
Crimes against humanity
When Siddiq was appointed a minister in July under the new Labour government, her aunt was in power in Bangladesh.
That soon changed - although the MP has not publicly commented on Hasina's ousting.
The daughter of Bangladesh's founder and first leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina is wanted for several alleged crimes by Bangladesh's interim government, including "crimes against humanity" during the violent August demonstrations.
Having been in office for over 15 years, Hasina's downfall this year was swift.
Nationwide protests erupted in July in response to a Bangladesh High Court verdict that was set to reintroduce a quota system in the country, reserving 30 percent of government jobs for the descendants of veterans who fought in the country's independence war in 1971.
Mass protests against the quota system, led by students who believed the move to be anti-meritocratic, were violently cracked down on by authorities for several weeks. More than 200 protesters were killed in July.
The deaths triggered further protests demanding the removal of Hasina, who had led the country since 2009. She had a previous stint as premier, between 1996 and 2001.
The 76-year-old's rule was marred by mass arrests of political opponents, the silencing of dissenting voices and accusations of human rights abuses.
She fled the capital Dhaka by helicopter in early August following weeks of violent crackdowns on protesters left almost 300 people dead.
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