A real estate businessman named Abdul Motalib provided a flat to Tulip Siddiq, the daughter of Bangladesh’s deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s sister Sheikh Rehana, free of charge. This flat, located near King’s Cross in London, was transferred to Tulip in 2004 without any payment. The details about this flat emerged from land registration documents in the UK, published by the Financial Times on Friday night.
During an over-the-phone conversation, Motalif confirmed he purchased the flat but refused to detail its further handling.
Tulip Siddiq, currently serving as the UK’s Economic Secretary in the Treasury, is responsible for curbing financial corruption in the country. Motalib initially purchased the property in 2001 for $250,000. The current value of the flat is not mentioned in the documents, though another flat in the same building was sold for $750,000 in August 2024.
According to voter registration documents from the UK, Tulip Siddiq resided in the King’s Cross flat in the early 2000s; later, her siblings lived there for several years. Her financial disclosures as a Member of Parliament mention rental income from two flats.
Sources close to the matter have revealed that Abdul Motalib received financial support from Tulip’s parents, Sheikh Hasina and her husband, during a difficult time in his life. In gratitude, Motalib transferred ownership of the flat to Tulip.
Abdul Motalib, now 70, resides in southeast London. Voter registration documents also show that Motalib’s address is linked to Majeebul Islam, whose father was a Member of Parliament from the Awami League in Bangladesh from 2014 to 2024. Motalib has confirmed purchasing the King’s Cross flat but declined to comment on what happened to it afterwards when contacted by the Financial Times.
The property gift raises questions amid investigations into corruption linked to Sheikh Hasina and her family members in Bangladesh. A political rival of Sheikh Hasina accused her family, including Tulip, of taking a cut from a Russia-backed nuclear power project and arms deal in Bangladesh, claims they have denied.
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