(Bloomberg) -- UK City Minister Tulip Siddiq denies any involvement in allegations of corruption being investigated in Bangladesh, where her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, served as prime minister until earlier this year.
Siddiq has been named in a probe into whether her family was involved in embezzling almost £4 billion ($5 billion) from Bangladeshi infrastructure projects, the BBC reported Thursday, citing court documents in Bangladesh.
“The minister has denied any involvement in the claims,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman, Dave Pares, told reporters on Thursday.
The minister allegedly helped negotiate a deal with Russia in 2013 relating to a nuclear power plant that led to £1 billion ending up in private hands, the BBC said. The Daily Mail on Thursday published a photo it said dated back to 2013, featuring Siddiq and Hasina alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The probe, which is being conducted by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission, is based on allegations from Bobby Hajjaj, a political opponent of Hasina, the BBC said. A person familiar with the matter said Siddiq has not been contacted by the relevant authorities in the investigation.
Still, the allegations are awkward for the UK government because Siddiq’s role as city minister includes responsibility for tackling financial corruption.
Pares said Siddiq maintains her ministerial responsibilities and has declared all relevant interests. He also said since coming to office earlier this year, she’s not been involved in any decisions relating to Bangladesh, and has recused herself from any future decisions to avoid any perceived conflict of interest.
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