ACC prosecutes Tulip Siddiq for taking Gulshan flat as ‘bribe’. What are the charges?

Initial findings link the late Eastern Housing chief and an ex-health minister's brother to the alleged crime

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has prosecuted Tulip Siddiq, a former UK City minister and niece of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, over allegations of taking a flat as a “bribe” from Eastern Housing Limited after facilitating the “illegal transfer” of a plot in Dhaka's Gulshan.

ACC Assistant Director Monirul Islam lodged the case at the agency’s Dhaka Integrated District Office on Tuesday, naming Tulip alongside two Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) officials.

Akhtar Hossain, the director general of the national anti-graft agency, said the three were accused of gaining “illegal advantage” through “collusion” and “abuse of power”.

The Commission’s investigation uncovered initial evidence linking the alleged irregularities to Jahurul Islam, the late chairman of Eastern Housing, and Mohammad Selim, the late legal advisor to RAJUK and brother of former health minister Mohammad Nasim.

As both are dead, they were not included as defendants in the case.

The investigation into Tulip’s alleged misconduct involves irregularities regarding a flat and plot in both Dhaka and the UK, as well as accusations of corruption linked to projects.

Sources familiar with the case say the process for transferring the plot in Gulshan began in 1997, after Hasina's first term as prime minister.

Regarding the new case, Akhtar said: “The chargesheet says through collusion, criminal conspiracy, corruption, misconduct in office, and abuse of power, Tulip illegally occupied a flat in Gulshan from Eastern Housing Limited without any payment and later acquired its ownership through registration.”

The other two accused are Shah Md Khosruzzaman and Sardar Mosharraf Hossain, former assistant legal advisors to RAJUK, who allegedly assisted Tulip in obtaining the property.

Earlier, the ACC also named Tulip in a separate case over alleged corruption involving a plot in Purbachal.

A Dhaka court has issued an arrest warrant against her in that case.

Tulip’s lawyer Paul Thwaite claimed that the allegations made by the ACC against this British MP were “completely false”.

He said there was “no basis at all for any charges to be made against her”.

According to Sky News, Tulip told journalists outside her home on Monday that she is the "victim of a politically motivated smear campaign”.

“There is no evidence I've done anything wrong", she added.

The former City minister said she had not been contacted by any Bangladeshi authorities and described the situation as a “trial by media”.

"I can't dignify this politically motivated smear campaign with any comment," she added.

She also accused the authorities of attempting to "harass" her.

WHAT THE CHARGESHEET SAYS

ACC Director General Akhtar said, "They [Tulip and the two RAJUK officials] have been charged under sections 120(B), 409, 161–165(A), 109 of the Penal Code, and section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947."

The seven-page chargesheet details that in 1963, the then chief justice Imam Hossain Choudhury was allotted a plot measuring over 1 bigha in Gulshan (plot No. 11A and 11B at present).

Under the government's 99-year lease agreement, any transfer or sub-sale of the plot was prohibited.

In 1973, Imam transferred the plot through a power of attorney to Md Mojibur Rahman Bhuiyan, after which it was subdivided and sold.

Construction of a building then began on the site under Eastern Housing Limited, led by its then chairman Jahurul.

The case alleges that after Jahurul’s death, disputes arose among his heirs and legal proceedings followed.

“While the lawsuit was ongoing and the transfer was prohibited, the relevant legal advisors of RAJUK approved the transfer of flats to Eastern Housing – which was illegal,” the statement reads.

“This is because the company was not the leaseholder or a legal representative."

The chargesheet says RAJUK records show no provision for transferring the plot before the lease period ended.

Still, Eastern Housing, using a power of attorney, divided the plot, constructed 36 flats, and received approval for transfer—all of which violated lease conditions.

Tulip allegedly received one of these flats from Eastern Housing in exchange for facilitating this process, which the ACC describes as an “illegal gratuity”.

A letter from Eastern Housing reportedly confirms that she took the flat without payment, and her name is listed among the flat recipients sent to RAJUK.

According to the chargesheet, Eastern Housing informed the City Corporation in a letter that Tulip has been occupying the flat since May 19, 2001, when Hasina was in power, and the UK MP has been paying holding tax since.

The alleged offence spans from Jul 11, 1963, to Oct 30, 2002.

Citing findings from its investigative team, the ACC alleges that “at the end of former prime minister’s tenure (handover on 15/07/2001), a rushed process was carried out using her appointees—Md Selim (elder brother of Awami League Presidium Member and ex-home minister Md Nasim) and Shah Khosruzzaman—who abused their positions to facilitate a power of attorney in favour of Eastern Housing and approved the transfer of flats to their nominated buyers.”

Among those alleged to have benefited illegally was Tulip, listed at No. 5 for plot No. 11B.

"During this time, Tulip Siddiq's aunt, Sheikh Hasina, was in power, and she illegally exerted and utilised that influence,” the chargesheet alleges.

The document concludes that five persons, including Tulip, committed “punishable offences” by “unlawfully influencing approvals, securing illegal advantages, and accepting a flat without payment”.