Bangladesh’s Interim Leader Declines Meeting with UK MP Tulip Siddiq Amid Corruption Allegations

Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has declined a meeting with UK Labour MP Tulip Siddiq during his London visit.

Siddiq, who is facing corruption allegations linked to her family’s ties with the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, had requested the meeting to address what she describes as a “politically motivated smear campaign.

Yunus stated that the matter is a “court issue” and expressed confidence in Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), which is investigating Siddiq. He emphasized the importance of allowing legal procedures to proceed without interference.

Siddiq has denied the allegations, asserting that they are false and politically driven. She resigned from her position as the UK’s Economic Secretary to the Treasury in January to avoid becoming a distraction to the government, despite being cleared of financial improprieties by the Prime Minister’s standards adviser.

The allegations against Siddiq include claims of illegal land acquisitions in Bangladesh, which she attributes to her aunt’s regime. She contends that the charges have not been formally presented to her and that communications from the ACC have been improperly directed.

Yunus’s refusal to meet Siddiq highlights the ongoing tensions between the interim Bangladeshi government and Siddiq, amid broader investigations into alleged corruption by the former regime.