Online Desk, Jan 05, (V7N) - 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.
 
Tulip Siddiq, who currently serves as the UK's Economic Secretary in the Treasury, is responsible for curbing financial corruption in the country. The property was initially purchased by Motalib in 2001 for £195,000 (approximately BDT 2.94 crore at current exchange rates). The current value of the flat is not mentioned in the documents, though another flat in the same building was sold for £650,000 (around BDT 9.8 crore) in August 2024.
 
According to voter registration documents from the UK, Tulip Siddiq resided in the King's Cross flat in the early 2000s, and 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, during a difficult time in his life, had received financial support from Tulip's parents, Sheikh Hasina and her husband. 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 afterward when contacted by the Financial Times.
 

News Source The Financial Times:

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