A court in Dhaka has issued an arrest warrant for British Labour MP Tulip Siddiq as part of an ongoing anti-corruption investigation targeting associates of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Tulip Siddiq, who represents Hampstead and Highgate in the UK Parliament and is the niece of Hasina, is one of more than 50 individuals named in the warrant. Others include Tulip Siddiq’s mother, Sheikh Rehana, and additional members of the influential political family.
The warrant is part of a wider probe by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), which is investigating allegations that Siddiq improperly acquired a 670-square-metre plot of land in Dhaka’s diplomatic enclave. According to reporting by The Guardian and BBC, the Commission alleges Tulip Siddiq used family ties to obtain the property during Hasina’s time in office.
The investigation also includes claims that Tulip Siddiq was involved in brokering a 2013 deal between Bangladesh and Russia for the construction of a nuclear power plant. The deal, valued in the billions, is alleged to have been deliberately overinflated to allow for financial misappropriation.
In statements through her legal team, Tulip Siddiq strongly denied any wrongdoing.
“The allegations are completely false and politically motivated,” said Tulip Siddiq’s London-based law firm, Stephenson Harwood. “She has never received a plot of land, and has no knowledge of any arrest warrant or legal proceedings in Bangladesh.”
The firm added that neither the ACC nor any Bangladeshi authorities had contacted Tulip Siddiq or her representatives directly regarding the claims.
The ACC’s probe forms part of a broader effort to investigate alleged embezzlement and misuse of public funds under Hasina’s leadership, which ended in August 2024 following mass street protests and calls for political reform. Hasina, who led Bangladesh for 20 years across two terms, is also named in the arrest warrant.
The primary complaint behind the investigation was filed by Bobby Hajjaj, a longstanding political opponent of the former prime minister. Hajjaj alleges that up to £3.9 billion was misappropriated through inflated infrastructure projects, including the 2013 nuclear agreement.
Tulip Siddiq’s political future in the UK has also come under scrutiny. She resigned from her post as Economic Secretary to the Treasury in January 2025, shortly after news of the Bangladesh inquiry became public. At the time, the UK Prime Minister’s adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Laurie Magnus, stated there was “no evidence of improprieties” following an internal ethics review.
Despite the arrest warrant, legal experts note that any extradition process would require significant legal hurdles. The UK designates Bangladesh as a “Category 2B” extradition country, meaning any request must be accompanied by clear and compelling evidence before proceeding through the British judicial system.
Tulip Siddiq, 42, has served as an MP since 2015 and is widely known in the UK for her work on early childhood education and financial inclusion. Her links to the Awami League political dynasty in Bangladesh have long been a subject of public interest.
As of Monday, the Bangladesh government has not formally requested Tulip Siddiq’s extradition, and UK authorities have not made any public statement on the matter.
