Bangladesh: Hasina and UK MP Tulip Siddiq found guilty, sentenced in corruption case

A court in Dhaka on Monday sentenced Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to five years in prison and her niece — British Labour MP Tulip Siddiq — to two years over corruption linked to a government land project.

Judge Rabiul Alam of the Special Judge’s Court ruled that Hasina had abused her authority as prime minister, while Siddiq was found guilty of influencing her aunt to help her mother obtain a plot under the Purbachal New Town project on Dhaka’s outskirts. Siddiq’s mother, Sheikh Rehana, received a seven-year sentence and was named the main beneficiary.

Siddiq, the MP for Hampstead and Highgate, has rejected the charges. Tried in absentia alongside 16 others, she is unlikely to serve her sentence and still faces several outstanding cases in Bangladesh.

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Trials held in absentia

Hasina has lived in exile in India since being ousted in last year’s mass uprising. Multiple cases against her — including this one — have been conducted without her present.

According to court filings, Siddiq “forced and influenced” Hasina to secure land for her mother and siblings. Prosecutors said Siddiq was tried as a Bangladeshi citizen, citing her passport, national ID and tax number. Her lawyers disputed this, insisting she has not held a Bangladeshi passport since childhood and has never had a national ID or voter card.

Sentencing and Siddiq’s statement

Judge Alam handed her a two-year prison term and a fine of 100,000 taka ($821), with six additional months if unpaid. At the start of the trial, Siddiq accused prosecutors of spreading “false and vexatious allegations” to the media, saying she would respond to any credible evidence presented.

A group of senior British lawyers — including Robert Buckland, Dominic Grieve and Cherie Blair — recently wrote to Bangladesh’s UK envoy expressing concern that Siddiq had been unable to secure proper legal representation. They described the proceedings as “artificial” and “a contrived and unfair way of pursuing a prosecution”.

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Separate death sentence for Hasina

Monday’s verdict follows Hasina’s death sentence two weeks earlier in a separate trial over a deadly crackdown on protests that led to her ouster in July 2024. That case, also held in absentia, found her guilty of crimes against humanity linked to an estimated 1,400 deaths. She has rejected all charges.

Siddiq still faces two further trials related to the Purbachal allegations and is under investigation over the transfer of a Dhaka flat to her sister. Her family continues to face scrutiny over other corruption claims, including alleged embezzlement tied to a £3.9 billion Russian-backed nuclear power project.

Broader corruption allegations

Bangladeshi authorities claim around $234 billion (£174 billion) was siphoned off through corruption during Hasina’s tenure.

Before Siddiq resigned from the UK government earlier this year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus found no “evidence of improprieties”, though he noted it was “regrettable” she had not recognised the reputational risks of her family ties. Siddiq said she stepped down to avoid becoming a “distraction”.

Extradition unlikely

The UK has no extradition treaty with Bangladesh, and as a Category 2B country, any request would require clear, tested evidence. Although Bangladesh issued an arrest warrant, Siddiq was not required to return for the trial.