LONDON: The British minister responsible for financial services and fighting corruption resigned on Tuesday after weeks of questions over her financial ties to her aunt Sheikh Hasina, ousted last year as prime minister of Bangladesh.
Tulip Siddiq, 42, had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last week he had full confidence in her.
The resignation of a second government minister in two months is a blow to Starmer, whose approval ratings have plunged since his Labour Party won a general election in July.
Siddiq was handed the portfolio for financial services policy after the election, a role that included responsibility for measures against money-laundering.
In a statement, Siddiq said although an investigation into her financial affairs found she had not breached the ministerial code of conduct, her position was “likely to be a distraction from the work of the government.”
“I have therefore decided to resign from my ministerial position,” she said.
Starmer swiftly appointed Emma Reynolds, who was a pensions minister, to Siddiq’s role.
Hasina, who had ruled Bangladesh since 2009, is being investigated there on suspicion of corruption and money laundering. Hasina and her party deny wrongdoing.
Siddiq was named in December as part of Bangladesh’s investigation into whether her family were involved in siphoning off funds from Bangladeshi infrastructure projects.
The anti-corruption commission alleged financial irregularities worth billions of dollars in the awarding of a $12.65 billion nuclear power contract, saying Hasina and Siddiq may have benefited.
After facing further scrutiny over the use of properties in Britain linked to Hasina and her supporters, Siddiq referred herself to the government’s independent ethics adviser.
Siddiq lived in a north London property given to her family in 2009 by Moin Ghani, a Bangladeshi lawyer who has represented Hasina’s government, documents filed with Companies House and the Land Registry show.
She also acquired a separate property in London in 2004, without paying for it, from a developer linked to the Awami League, Hasina’s political party, the Financial Times reported this month.
Hasina fled Bangladesh after being toppled following weeks of protests.
Siddiq’s departure follows the resignation of British transport minister Louise Haigh late last year. Haigh acknowledged a minor criminal offense before she entered government, relating to a mobile phone that she had wrongly reported stolen.

BUCHAREST: A Romanian court on Tuesday lifted the house arrest order imposed on controversial influencer Andrew Tate, replacing it with judicial control, his spokesperson said.
The US-born Briton has been under house arrest since late August 2024, after authorities raided his home over accusations including forming an organized criminal group, trafficking of minors, sexual relations with a minor and money laundering.
At the time, his brother Tristan was placed under judicial control, which requires him to appear before authorities regularly.
Andrew Tate has dismissed the case as a “set up.”
The Bucharest Tribunal on Tuesday said it “replaces the measure of house arrest ordered against the defendant Andrew Tate with judicial control for 60 days,” according to a statement by the brothers’ spokesperson.
The judicial control measure grants Tate the freedom to travel throughout Romania, but he is not allowed to leave the country.
The court “rejects as unfounded the proposal to extend the measure of house arrest imposed on the defendant Andrew Tate” requested by prosecutors in early January, the statement added.
The ruling comes after a Romanian court last month granted an appeal by Tate in an older case, refusing to put him on trial over human trafficking charges for now, and referring the case back to prosecutors.
Prosecutors allege that 38-year-old Tate, his brother, 36, and two women set up a criminal organization in early 2021 in Romania and in Britain, and sexually exploited several victims. The brothers say they are innocent.
The Tates also face rape and assault allegations in separate cases in Britain, where they have also been accused of tax evasion.
Andrew Tate moved to Romania years ago after first starting a webcam business in the UK.
In 2016, Tate appeared on the “Big Brother” reality television show in Britain but was removed after a video emerged showing him attacking a woman.
He then turned to social media platforms to promote his divisive views.
Giving tips on how to be successful, along with misogynistic and sometimes violent maxims, Tate’s videos have made him one of the world’s best-known influencers.