The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against several individuals, including Tulip Siddiq, former UK minister and niece of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, for unlawfully acquiring a flat from Eastern Housing Limited in the capital’s Gulshan area.
The information was confirmed on Tuesday by ACC Director General (Prevention) Akhtar Hossain.
Meanwhile, according to media reports, on Monday, speaking to reporters in London, Tulip outright rejected allegations of corruption against her, describing the move as a “politically motivated smear campaign.”
She said: “No one from the Bangladeshi authorities has contacted me. They’ve conducted a trial by media from the very beginning. My lawyers proactively wrote to the Bangladeshi authorities, but they never responded.
“I’m sure you’ll understand that I can’t dignify this politically motivated smear campaign with any further comments. It’s entirely an attempt to harass me. There is no evidence that I have done anything wrong.”
According to the case file, the matter dates back to a property originally allotted in 1963 by the then Dhaka Improvement Trust (DIT) to the former chief justice of East Pakistan, Imam Hossain Chowdhury.
The property—initially recorded as Plot No CWN (A)-27 and later changed to Plot No 05, Block NE(A), Gulshan—measured 1 bigha, 19 kathas, and 13 chitaks, says the case file.
As per the 1964 lease deed, the plot could neither be transferred nor subdivided for 99 years.
However, Imam Chowdhury allegedly violated this condition by appointing Md Mojibur Rahman Bhuiyan as his power of attorney (POA) in 1973, as per the case documents.
Bhuiyan subsequently transferred the land in 1974 to Chowdhury’s wife, Shamsun Nahar, and sister-in-law, Jarin Begum. The plot was then subdivided and sold in parts, despite the explicit restrictions outlined in clauses 22 and 23 of the government lease agreement, the documents said.
Shamsun Nahar later sold her portion of the property for Tk50 lakh to Naima Islam and Kanita Islam, daughters of Eastern Housing Limited chairman Jahurul Islam. The sisters then appointed their father as their individual POA, it added.
With assistance from Rajuk (the capital development authority), Jahurul Islam divided the plot into two sections (Plot 11A and 11B) and initiated the construction of a six-storey building. He passed away during the development phase, the case file said.
Subsequently, the sisters appointed their brother, Manjurul Islam, as POA, but later revoked his authority due to family disputes. This revocation, along with subsequent counterclaims, led to multiple court cases among family members, it added.
During this period, the sisters requested that Rajuk not approve any flat transfers. Despite the ongoing legal disputes, Rajuk’s legal advisers—allegedly ignoring key legal protocols—approved the flat transfer to Eastern Housing Limited, despite the company lacking valid ownership or legal POA, as per the case files.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) alleges that this approval process was manipulated through false statements and abuse of power.
Rajuk’s decision enabled the illegal transfer of 36 flats from the subdivided plot—despite the lease being within its 99-year non-transferable period and no administrative authorization being in effect between 1964 and 1974, it said.
In what the ACC describes as a quid pro quo, Tulip Siddique allegedly received a flat from Eastern Housing as an illicit favor.
Internal documents from the company reportedly show that she was granted the flat free of cost. Her name appeared at position No 5 on Rajuk’s official flat ownership list in the relevant note sheet, ACC said.
However, a letter submitted by Eastern Housing to Dhaka City Corporation said that Tulip Siddique had occupied the flat since May 19, 2001, during the tenure of her aunt, prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Since then, she has been paying holding tax on the property.
The flat—located at Flat No B/201, House No 5A and 5B (now renumbered as 115 and 11B), Road No 71, Gulshan-2—was valued at Tk45,24,920, with the garage estimated at Tk6 lakh. However, records show that only Tk2 lakh was documented as paid, and no money receipt could be produced, the letter said.
Based on this, the ACC concluded that the flat was transferred without any actual payment and through a fraudulent registration process.
Former Rajuk legal adviser Dr Md Selim, brother of the late home minister Mohammed Nasim, and Eastern Housing chairman Jahurul Islam were not named as accused in the case, as both are deceased.
The accused are: Tulip Siddiq, her father Shafique Ahmed Siddique, and her mother Sheikh Rehana, along with former Rajuk assistant legal advisers Shah Md Khasruzzaman and Sardar Mosharraf Hossain.
