Questions over whether Tulip misled UK parliament on flat ownership

The former Labour city minister and niece of Sheikh Hasina is the subject of an inquiry by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission

Former Labour city minister Tulip Siddiq has faced questions over whether she misled the UK Parliament over the ownership of an apartment in Bangladesh, reports The Daily Mail.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in Bangladesh is investigating the MP over the apartment – valued at £600,000, the UK-based publication says.

Tulip, 42, told the Mail she received the apartment as a gift from her parents in 2002 and transferred it “lawfully and legitimately” to her sister Azmina within weeks of her election to parliament in May 2015.

The records in the Westminster's Register of Members' Interests say she co-owned the property with a family member in June 2015 and transferred it in June 2015.

The Daily Mail says that according to searches at the Dhaka Sub Registry Office, Tulip still owns the flat, as alleged by the ACC.

A court in Bangladesh is now to decide on who owns it.

The ACC says that Tulip attempted to transfer ownership of the flat to Azmina in 2015 using a Heba, an Islamic document that allows a person to hand over an asset to a family member. The ACC claims the Heba is “fake” as the barrister who authenticated it denied his involvement and alleged that his signature was forged.

However, Tulip’s lawyers say the Heba was executed correctly and she declared the flat was “co-owned with a family member” since the rental income went to her sister. They have also called the ACC’s allegations “false and vexatious”.

On Friday, Tulip’s lawyer Paul Thwaite said a Bangladeshi legal expert had told him the Heba document was sufficient for a transfer and the registry records were “unreliable”.

He alleged that it was “nonsensical” to suggest Tulip had misled Parliament.

In January, she resigned from her role as city minister over a London apartment gifted to her by a UK-based property developer with ties to her aunt Sheikh Hasina, ousted recently as Bangladesh’s prime minister.

An investigation found that Tulip had inadvertently misled the public on the matter.

Tullip took to X, formerly Twitter, last week to claim the ACC allegations are “baseless”.

“Here in the U.K., we have due process, the rule of law and a tradition of fair play. I would happily respond to any legitimate questions, but I will not be drawn into dirty politics, nor allow their witch-hunt to undermine my work as a British citizen and proud member of the U.K. Parliament,” she wrote.