Bangladesh court orders Interpol alert for British MP
A court in Bangladesh has ordered authorities to request Interpol to issue a red notice for the arrest of a British MP on corruption charges in a private real estate project.
Tulip Siddiq, a former British minister and MP for Hampstead and Highgate in London, is facing corruption charges in Bangladesh as the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission continues its case against her.
Siddiq was sentenced to six years in prison in Bangladesh in three other corruption cases, all involving his powerful aunt and the country’s former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.
Hasina was ousted by a student-led mass uprising in 2024, ending her 15-year rule, and has been in exile in India since August 2024.
Siddiqui had previously denied all allegations against him, describing the decisions as “complete nonsense” and saying that he was a British citizen, not a Bangladeshi citizen.
The commission said Siddiqui used his connection with Hasina to influence the process of granting land to a private company in Dhaka’s upscale Gulshan area.
Siddiq is the daughter of Sheikh Rehana, Hasina’s younger sister.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Muhammad Sabbir Faiz issued the order on Thursday following a petition by the corruption watchdog.
The decision came after the commission’s deputy director, AKM Mortuza Ali Sagar, sought an order to issue a red notice through Interpol to facilitate his arrest.
There was no immediate reaction from Siddiq on Thursday.
In January 2025, Siddiq resigned as a British government minister under Prime Minister Keir Starmer due to his ties to Hasina.
Siddiq said he was cleared of wrongdoing, but resigned from his post as treasury economy minister because the issue became “a distraction from the government’s work.”
Three days after Hasina’s ouster, Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohammed Younis took over as interim leader and eventually oversaw elections on February 12.
The new government of Prime Minister Tariq Rahman, Hasina’s main political rival and the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, took over.
