Tulip Siddiq, the UK’s economic secretary to the treasury and a prominent Labour Party figure, has come under fire for her connections to property acquisitions allegedly tied to the Awami League, Bangladesh’s recently ousted ruling party.
According to UK Land Registry records, Tulip was gifted a two-bedroom apartment near London’s King’s Cross in 2004 by Abdul Motalif, a property developer with links to her aunt, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, according to British daily Financial Times.
Motalif had purchased the property in 2001 for £195,000. Tulip’s spokesperson denied any political implications, insisting the property transfer was unrelated to her connections with the Awami League.
Motalif, known for his association with Awami League elites, confirmed the purchase but refused to comment on why he transferred the flat to Siddiq.
The controversy comes as Tulip’s family is implicated in a Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigation into alleged misuse of funds tied to a Russia-backed nuclear power project.
The ACC accuses the Awami League of laundering funds to acquire overseas properties, with Tulip's name reportedly surfacing in the probe.
Despite Tulip’s denial of links to Bangladeshi politics, her past involvement with the Awami League’s lobbying activities in the UK and EU has raised eyebrows.
Furthermore, since 2022, she has been renting a £2.1 million London property owned by Abdul Karim, another prominent Awami League executive.
Tulip’s allies claim she pays market rates and has disclosed the arrangement to UK parliamentary authorities.
The King’s Cross apartment, transferred to Tulip long before she became a Member of Parliament in 2015, did not require parliamentary disclosure.
However, her financial dealings have faced scrutiny.
Tulip was previously reprimanded for failing to report rental income from a constituency flat.
Tulip also jointly purchased a flat in Hampstead and Highgate with her husband for £865,000, and the couple reportedly owns both properties outright, without mortgages.
In 2018, she extended the King’s Cross property lease for £90,000, further solidifying her financial assets.
This controversy gained significance in UK as Tulip oversees anti-money laundering policies in her ministerial role.
Before her political career, Tulip worked in the charitable sector and as a consultant.
