A court in Dhaka, Bangladesh, has directed authorities to pursue an Interpol Red Notice for British Labour MP Tulip Siddiq.
A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. It does not constitute an international arrest warrant and enforcement depends on the host country’s authorities.
Siddiq, niece of former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted from office in 2024, is facing allegations of illegally acquiring a flat in the capital’s upscale Gulshan-2 area.
The order was issued today by Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Sabbir Faiz, following a petition from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
ACC Assistant Director AKM Mortuza Ali Sagar applied for the Red Notice, arguing that Ms Siddiq, who lives abroad, is a fugitive and her arrest is essential to the investigation.
The case centres on claims that Ms Siddiq obtained undue benefits from a private developer to secure the property during the tenure of her aunt, Hasina.
The same court had on February 18 issued arrest warrants for Siddiq and Sardar Mosharraf Hossain, a former assistant legal adviser at Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), after accepting the charge sheet.
Siddiq, who is an MP for Hampstead and Highgate and a former UK treasury minister, has consistently denied the charges, branding previous related verdicts in Bangladesh as politically motivated and a “complete farce”.
She has emphasised her status as a British citizen and stated she has not been properly notified or afforded due process in the cases.
The move forms part of Bangladesh’s wider crackdown on figures associated with the Hasina administration, toppled in a 2024 popular uprising. Hasina has been in exile since being ousted.
Siddiq has already received sentences in absentia in three separate corruption matters linked to her family ties.
She resigned as treasury minister under current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in January 2025 after growing pressure over the anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh.
Siddiq said continuing in her role would be “a distraction” for the government but insisted she had done nothing wrong.
Anti-corruption is a key role of the treasury minister in the UK.
Siddiq has been named in an investigation into claims her family embezzled up to £3.9 billion (€4.4 billion) from infrastructure spending in Bangladesh.
In January this year, the Financial Times reported that Siddiq was given a central London apartment by a person connected with the party of the ousted Bangladeshi government.
No immediate response was available from Siddiq or her office on the Red Note request.
The UK and Bangladesh lack an extradition treaty and British authorities have previously declined to recognise politically charged judgments involving UK nationals.
