WORLD
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer Thursday (Dec 19) threw his weight behind Treasury Minister Tulip Siddiq after she was named in an anti-graft probe in Bangladesh. Dhaka is investigating a 2013 deal brokered by Siddiq between Bangladesh and Russia regarding setting up a nuclear power plant. There are allegations that large sums of cash, approximately worth up to $4 billion, were embezzled in major infrastructure deals in Bangladesh, struck by the former government of Sheikh Hasina, the aunt of the UK minister. The ongoing probe is part of a wider investigation against Hasina’s activities by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Tulip Siddiq is Sheikh Hasina’s niece. Hasina’s government was overthrown by student protestors earlier this year after violent demonstrations. Serving as Treasury’s Economic Secretary, Siddiq is entrusted with dealing with corruption allegations inside UK financial market. She was appointed as anti-corruption minister by UK Labour Party following July victory. Also read: Sheikh Hasina involved as `instructor` in enforced disappearances, alleges Bangladesh`s inquiry commission According to a BBC report, Siddiq’s father was a university professor in Dhaka. Hasina’s younger sister, Siddiq’s mother, was granted political asylum in UK. Her parents settled in Hampstead with their three children – Siddiq herself, her elder brother, and her younger sister. Siddiq was raised in a Muslim household. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s first president, was Siddiq’s maternal grandfather. He was assassinated in 1975, along with most of his family during a military coup. Watch:Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina Accuses Yunus Of Leading An 'Undemocratic Group' Siddiq got the opportunity to meet influential world leaders of the world as a child. She met leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, and Mother Teresa, and her family was once invited to the White House as well. She was just 16 when she entered politics and joined the Labour Party. Later, Siddiq was selected as Labour’s candidate for the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency following the retirement of Glenda Jackson, an Oscar-winning actress turned MP. (With inputs from agencies) Geopolitical writer at WION, follows Indian foreign policy and world politics, a truth seeker. None
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