Tulip should apologise for using properties given by AL regime: Yunus

Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus has called on Britain's anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq, the niece of Sheikh Hasina who has been facing controversy over corruption charges, to apologise for using properties given to her and her family by the Awami League regime.

Muhammad Yunus told The Sunday Times that the London properties used by Tulip Siddiq should be investigated and returned if she is found to have benefited from "plain robbery".

The London homes connected to Siddiq should be examined as part of a continuing inquiry into fraud and embezzlement, Yunus told the British news outlet.

The comments are his first on the scandal engulfing Siddiq, 42, and will add to the pressure on her to resign. However, there are suggestions No 10 is already looking for a replacement, according to the Sunday Times report.

Yunus's intervention came as a Sunday Times investigation found Siddiq spent years living in a Hampstead property bought by an offshore company named in the Panama Papers and connected to two Bangladeshi businessmen.

During an interview with the Times on Thursday at the Jamuna State Guest House, his official residence in the capital, Yunus said it was an "irony" that Siddiq had been accused of corruption.

Yunus referred to a recent official report that found the people connected with the Awami League regime had taken billions of dollars a year out of Bangladesh, with some funds used to buy assets including property abroad.

"They pointed out how money is stolen, but it's not stealing – when you steal, you hide it. It's a robbery," he said.

Asked whether that could apply to properties used by members of Hasina's family in London, the chief adviser said, "Absolutely, it's about plain robbery. Nothing else."

"If a UK parliament member is involved, definitely it's a big issue … we got used to [the previous regime] taking away everything, so we feel relieved that you're bringing this [issue] to the attention of the world."

Asked whether Siddiq's properties should be investigated by the ACC, Yunus said "absolutely". He added that the commission should look at the "whole thing".

He also said that, if feasible, the properties bought by Awami League allies should be returned. "That's the intention of the interim government. How to bring them back. Because it's about people's money. And when I say people it's not about the billion-dollar people you talk about, [it's] common people," he said.

In the interview, Yunus said his officials aimed to recover cash and assets held overseas but originating from funds in Bangladesh.

"Where they live, wherever they have palaces, whole complexes of properties bought, you see in many capitals, not far from us, the countries very close to us. Then UK, we'll try and find them. And then go further further, Caribbeans, USA, Canada."

According to Sunday Times, the National Crime Agency (NCA), Britain's equivalent of the FBI, has indicated its willingness to help Bangladesh recover certain assets.