1 week Ago By The Telegraph
Bangladesh has demanded that Interpol issues a Red Notice to Tulip Siddiq, the Labour MP, if she does not attend a court hearing in Dhaka this month. The former treasury minister is accused of illegally receiving a plot of land from her despot aunt’s government. A Bangladeshi court issued an arrest warrant against Ms Siddiq on Sunday and expects her to comply by April 27.
A senior official at the Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) told The Telegraph that they will request that Interpol issues a Red Notice against Ms Siddiq if she doesn’t appear on or before that day. Aminul Islam, assistant director of the ACC’s prosecution division, said: “The court has ordered a report to be submitted on April 27 regarding whether the accused has been arrested or not.” “Should she fail to comply with an arrest warrant, she will be designated a fugitive under the law,” another ACC officer said.
“In absence of an extradition treaty with the UK, we will ask the Interpol to issue a Red notice to activate the host government of the accused person,” the ACC officer said. However, he acknowledged that the UK Government is likely to resist any move against Ms Siddiq. “Ms Siddiq is a British citizen and the UK Government will do everything to protect its citizen,” he said.
While there is no extradition treaty between the UK and Bangladesh , the ACC believes a red notice could at least trigger formal engagement by UK authorities. The UK has been a member of Interpol since 1928, but this case would test how far that co-operation stretches when one of Westminster’s own was implicated, he said. In case of the UK Government’s non-compliance to the Interpol Red notice, he said Bangladesh might ultimately proceed with a trial in absentia.
“There are provisions of trial in absentia and we may end up doing that,” he said. The ACC official said they would deliver the arrest warrant to Ms Siddiq through its High Commission in London. “After a proven period of non appearance of the accused, we will ask the Ministry of Home to contact Interpol headquarters and process the request to the host government.
Interpol itself cannot arrest, but expedite the process towards a conclusion,” he said. Ms Siddiq is facing an arrest warrant after a Bangladeshi court confirmed the ACC charges against her, accusing her of abuse of power and influence to acquire plots for herself and family members from her despot aunt’s government. The ACC believes the former City minister received a 7,200 sq ft plot in the diplomatic zone of the capital Dhaka through “abuse of power and influence”.
The ACC also alleges that Ms Siddiq abused her position and influence as a British MP to persuade her aunt, Sheikh Hasina the former prime minister, to allocate three plots of land to members of her immediate family. According to the documents, under the influence of Ms Siddiq, the former Prime Minister approved one plot each for Ms Siddiq’s mother, Sheikh Rehana, 69; her brother, Radwan, 44; and her younger sister, Azmina , 34. All three are based in Britain.
It is part of a wider investigation into the alleged unlawful allocation of state-owned land to Ms Hasina, the ousted prime minister of Bangladesh, her children and close relatives. The case is separate from a £4 billion embezzlement investigation by the ACC into a nuclear deal struck by Ms Hasina, in which Ms Siddiq had also been named. Ms Siddiq, who resigned from the Government in January amid scrutiny of her links to Ms Hasina, has been named in three Bangladeshi inquiries.
She has denied the charges and accused the Bangladeshi government of a “targeted and baseless” campaign against her and asked why it had briefed the media but not put its allegations to her directly. Sheikh Hasina, Ms Siddiq’s aunt, and several others face possible detention after charges filed by ACC. Interpol declined to comment.
Representatives for Ms Siddiq have been asked for comment..
