The Anti-Corruption Commission has issued a clarification responding to concerns raised in recent media reports about the trial and sentencing of Tulip Siddiq, saying the facts of the case have been "misrepresented".
In its statement last night, the ACC said it conducted a review of all prosecution materials filed against Tulip in the corruption cases involving her and members of the former prime minister's family.
According to the case records, each matter involves allegations of corruption relating to the allotment of government plots in the names of Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Rehana, and their siblings and children. In one pending case, the commission said it appears that Hasina's niece Tulip herself was allotted an additional plot during her aunt's tenure as head of government.
The ACC said Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Rehana and their siblings, including Tulip, absconded to evade trial. Of the three cases, the trial of the first has concluded. In Special Case No. 18 of 2025 before Special Tribunal No. 5, Tulip was found guilty of corruption for influencing her aunt to secure land for her mother and siblings.
It said, the prosecution examined 32 witnesses. Several testified under oath that Tulip, known to be close to Hasina, used her influence to obtain the allotments. The ACC said their testimony, together with circumstantial evidence of plots allotted in the names of Tulip, her mother and her siblings, showed she was "deeply involved in the illegal process" of securing the plots.
The statement said such actions constitute abetment under Sections 161, 163, 164, 165(Ka), 201, 217, 218, 409, and 420 of the Penal Code, read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
The ACC added that Tulip herself obtained a plot in Gulshan and later renumbered -- by abusing the influence she wielded over her aunt. The land is located in one of the most expensive areas of Dhaka and had been earmarked for public housing.
The statement also said Tulip had been linked to a number of London properties purchased through offshore companies. "This raises a fundamental question: how do individuals in public service acquire the resources necessary to purchase multiple properties and parcels of land in two major world capitals?" the ACC said.
It rejected Tulip's assertion that she was unable to respond to the charges, saying she was given the opportunity to attend the trial but declined to appear or be represented, resulting in her being tried in absentia.
"In light of these facts and circumstances, there is no basis to suggest that she was not involved in corruption or that she is innocent of the charges brought against her," the ACC said.
It is to be noted that deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, and her niece Tulip Siddiq, a Labour MP in the UK, were sentenced in absentia to varying jail terms over corruption in the allocation of Purbachal plots, on Monday.
However, Tulip Siddiq told The Guardian that the ruling "deserves contempt" and called the entire process "flawed and farcical". She said the outcome of the "kangaroo court" was predictable and politically motivated, adding that she would not be distracted from her duties to her constituents.
