The UK’s Minister for Financial Services and Anti-Corruption, Tulip Siddiq, stepped down on Tuesday after weeks of scrutiny over her financial connections to her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the former Bangladeshi prime minister ousted last year.
Siddiq, 42, denied any misconduct, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously expressed his confidence in her. However, her resignation marks the second ministerial departure in two months, dealing another blow to Starmer’s government as his approval ratings have declined since Labour’s victory in July’s general election.
Appointed after the election, Siddiq’s portfolio included responsibility for combating money laundering. In her resignation letter, she stated that her continued role could “distract from the government’s work.”
The government’s ethics advisor concluded Siddiq did not breach the ministerial code but criticized her lack of awareness regarding reputational risks tied to her family’s association with Bangladesh. Starmer responded by swiftly appointing Emma Reynolds, formerly a pensions minister, to replace her.
Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s leader from 2009 until her removal last year, is under investigation for alleged corruption and money laundering, charges she and her party deny. Bangladesh’s anti-corruption commission implicated Siddiq in December, alleging her family might have profited from financial irregularities in a $12.65 billion nuclear power project.
Siddiq also faced scrutiny over properties in the UK tied to Hasina and her associates. Records show Siddiq’s family lived in a North London home gifted by Moin Ghani, a Bangladeshi lawyer linked to Hasina, and she acquired another property in 2004 from a developer connected to the Awami League, Hasina’s political party.
Hasina fled Bangladesh following her ousting amidst mass protests. Siddiq’s resignation follows the departure of Transport Minister Louise Haigh late last year, who stepped down after admitting to falsely reporting a mobile phone as stolen before entering government.
