Labour MP and former minister in the United Kingdom, Tulip Siddiq, has been sentenced to two years in prison in Bangladesh after being tried in her absence alongside 16 others over allegations of corruption.

Siddiq was found guilty of using her influence over her aunt, former Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, to secure a plot of land for her family on the outskirts of Dhaka, a claim she strongly denies.

Based in London, Siddiq is unlikely to serve the sentence. She continues to face multiple ongoing charges in Bangladesh.

Since Sheikh Hasina’s government was ousted, Bangladeshi prosecutors have launched a series of extensive legal actions against the former leader, her associates, and family members.

Siddiq’s trial, which began in August, followed her resignation as a Treasury minister in January amid controversy over her ties to her aunt.

Court records state that Siddiq “forced and influenced her aunt and the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina using her special power to secure [a plot of land] for her mother Rehana Siddiq, sister Azmina Siddiq and brother Radwan Siddiq.”

A Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission prosecutor noted that Siddiq was tried as a Bangladeshi citizen after authorities obtained her Bangladeshi passport, ID, and tax number.

Siddiq’s lawyers, however, rejected this, telling the Financial Times she has “never had” an ID card or voter ID, and “has not held a passport since she was a child.”

Judge Rabiul Alam handed Siddiq a two-year prison sentence and imposed a fine of 100,000 Bangladeshi Taka ($821; £620). Failure to pay would add six months to her sentence.

At the start of the trial, Siddiq argued that prosecutors had “peddled false and vexatious allegations that have been briefed to the media but never formally put to me by investigators.”

A statement on her behalf added, “I have been clear from the outset that I have done nothing wrong and will respond to any credible evidence that is presented to me. Continuing to smear my name to score political points is both baseless and damaging.” She has not publicly commented since the verdict.

Concerns over the trial’s fairness have been raised in the UK. Last week, senior lawyers, including former justice secretary Robert Buckland, ex-attorney general Dominic Grieve, and human rights lawyer Lady Cherie Blair, wrote to Bangladesh’s UK representative.

The letter, first reported by the Guardian, said Siddiq had not secured proper legal representation, describing the proceedings as “artificial and a contrived and unfair way of pursuing a prosecution.”

The verdict comes just two weeks after Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity, linked to a crackdown that led to the deaths of around 1,400 people during protests that toppled her government in July 2024. Hasina, who is in exile in India, denied the charges.

Siddiq’s mother is Hasina’s sister, and she still faces several other cases in Bangladesh, including two trials connected to the land allegations at the heart of this verdict.

Authorities are also investigating her over the alleged transfer of a flat in a lucrative Dhaka neighborhood to her sister.

In a related case, Hasina was sentenced to 21 years in prison alongside two of her children over a Purbachal land deal, running parallel to Siddiq’s trial. Siddiq and her family have also faced scrutiny over allegations of embezzlement linked to a £3.9bn Russian-funded nuclear deal in 2013.

Siddiq has consistently denied wrongdoing. The allegations reportedly stem from claims by political opponent Bobby Hajjaj.

Bangladeshi authorities estimate that approximately $234bn (£174bn) was misappropriated through corruption during Hasina’s tenure.

Before her resignation, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s independent ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, stated he found “no evidence of improprieties” regarding Siddiq, though he called it “regrettable” that she had not been more mindful of the “potential reputational risks” associated with her ties to Hasina.

While maintaining her innocence, Siddiq stepped down from her junior ministerial role to avoid being a “distraction” for the UK government.

The UK does not have an extradition treaty with Bangladesh, which is classified as a 2B country, requiring clear evidence for extradition approval.

Despite an arrest warrant, Siddiq was not compelled to return to Dhaka for her trial.