Bangladesh court seeks Interpol ‘Red Notice’ to arrest British MP Tulip Siddiq

Dhaka, Feb 26 : A Bangladesh court on Thursday ordered the authorities to seek an Interpol ‘Red Notice’ for the arrest of British MP Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, niece of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, over corruption allegations, local media reported.

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Sabbir Faiz passed the order on Thursday following an appeal by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), according to the court’s bench assistant, Riaz Hossain.

The appeal filed by ACC Assistant Director AKM Mortuza Ali Sagar sought the ‘Red Notice’ through Interpol against Tulip, a lawmaker from the United Kingdom’s ruling Labour Party.

According to the appeal, Tulip allegedly misused the influence of her aunt, Hasina, who was then serving as the Prime Minister.

It further stated that by influencing a legal officer of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), she allegedly took illegal possession of a flat in Eastern Housing Limited in Gulshan, Dhaka, without making any payment through granting and receiving unlawful favours, Bangladesh’s leading Bengali daily Prothom Alo reported.

Reports suggest that a case has been registered against Tulip Siddiq in this connection. As she is currently abroad, the ACC contended that an Interpol ‘Red Notice’ is necessary to apprehend her.

This latest development under the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government underscores the continuing feud with the Awami League, which experts reckon as a political vendetta.

Earlier this month, a Dhaka court sentenced Hasina to 10 years’ imprisonment in connection with a corruption case linked to the Purbachal plot scam, while Tulip Siddiq was given a four-year jail term, according to local media reports.

On December 1, 2025, a Bangladesh court sentenced Hasina to five years in prison over irregularities in the allocation of plots under the Purbachal project.

Additionally, Hasina’s sister, Sheikh Rehana, was handed a seven-year sentence, while her niece, Tulip Siddiq, received two years' imprisonment.

In the same case, on November 27 last year, the Dhaka court sentenced Hasina to 21 years of imprisonment in three corruption cases filed by the ACC.

Following the November verdict, Hasina and her family members rejected the corruption charges against them, calling the claims "malicious, politically motivated and without any proper foundation".

Slamming the former Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, they said, “We firmly deny all allegations of corruption, with each charge brought against us tainted by the political motivations of our opponents. The ACC is under the control of an unelected government, armed with slanted and partial evidence, which prevents any opportunity to defend ourselves.”