DHAKA — A court in Bangladesh has ordered authorities to request an Interpol Red Notice for the arrest of British Member of Parliament Tulip Siddiq[1]. The move comes amid allegations of corruption linked to a private real estate project during the tenure of her aunt, ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina[1][2].
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Mohammed Sabbir Faiz issued the order on Thursday following a petition by Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC)[1]. According to the ACC, Siddiq leveraged her family ties to unlawfully influence the allocation of government land to a private company in Dhaka's upscale Gulshan area[1].
Siddiq, an MP representing Hampstead and Highgate in London and a former UK government minister, has already been sentenced to a cumulative six years in prison by Bangladeshi courts in three separate corruption cases[1]. All of these cases are tied to alleged abuses of power during Hasina’s 15-year rule, which abruptly ended in August 2024 following a massive student-led uprising[1]. Hasina has since been living in exile in India[1].
Siddiq has strongly denied all allegations, dismissing the previous verdicts as a "complete farce"[1]. She has publicly clarified that she is exclusively a British citizen and not a Bangladeshi national[1]. In January 2025, she resigned from her position as Economic Secretary to the Treasury in Prime Minister Keir Starmer's cabinet, citing that the intense scrutiny regarding her ties to Hasina had become a "distraction from the work of the government," despite maintaining her innocence[1].
The ACC argued that since Siddiq is currently residing abroad, an Interpol Red Notice is necessary to facilitate her apprehension[3]. However, legal experts note that the execution of any potential arrest remains highly complicated, as the United Kingdom does not currently have an extradition treaty with Bangladesh[2][4].
