UK minister resigns after being named in Bangladesh corruption probe | News of corruption

Anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq is stepping down amid questions about ties to the country’s leader, her aunt Sheikh Hasina.

The British minister responsible for financial services and the fight against corruption has resigned after weeks of questions about his financial links with his aunt Sheikh Hasina, fell down prime minister of Bangladesh.

Tulip Siddiq, 42, had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last week he had full confidence in her.

The resignation on Tuesday of a second government minister in two months is a blow to Starmer, whose approval ratings have plummeted since his Labor Party won the general election in July.

In a letter to the prime minister, Siddiq reiterated that she had done nothing wrong, but said that continuing her work in the Treasury office could be “a distraction from the work of government”.

Starmer said he accepted his resignation with “sadness”.

He thanked Siddiq for his work and acknowledged that “no evidence of financial impropriety on your part” had been found.

“I appreciate that in order to end the ongoing distraction from delivering our agenda to change Britain, you have made a difficult decision and want to be clear that the door remains open for you going forward,” added Starmer.

Siddiq was given the portfolio for financial services policy after the election, a role that included responsibility for measures against money laundering.

Starmer quickly appointed Emma Reynolds, who was a pensions minister, to the role of Siddiq.

Hasina, who had ruled Bangladesh since 2009, was investigated there on suspicion of corruption and money laundering. Hasina and her party deny wrongdoing.

Siddiq was named in December as part of Bangladesh’s investigation into whether his family was involved in siphoning funds from Bangladeshi infrastructure projects.

The anti-corruption commission has alleged financial irregularities worth billions of dollars in the awarding of a $12.65 billion nuclear power contract, saying Hasina and Siddiq may have benefited.

Siddiq has faced more scrutiny over the use of properties in Britain linked to Hasina and her supporters.

Siddiq lived in a north London property given to his family in 2009 by Moin Ghani, a Bangladeshi lawyer who represented Hasina’s government, documents filed with the Land Registry and Land Registry show. quoted by Reuters news agency.

He also bought a separate property in London in 2004 without paying for it from a developer linked to the Awami League, Hasina’s political party, the Financial Times reported this month.

Hasina fled from Bangladesh to India when it was dropped after weeks of protests.

Siddiq’s departure follows the resignation of British transport minister Louise Haigh late last year.

Haigh admitted to a minor criminal offense before she entered the government in relation to a cellphone she had mistakenly claimed stolen.