A special court in Dhaka directed the relevant government authorities on Thursday to seek a Red Notice from Interpol for the arrest of Tulip Siddiq, a British Member of Parliament and niece of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in connection with a corruption case.
The order was issued by Md Sabbir Faiz, judge of the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court in Dhaka, following a hearing on a petition filed by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Assistant Director A K M Mortuza Ali Sagar.
On April 15 last year, the ACC filed the case against Tulip Siddiq and Rajuk's former assistant legal advisors, Sardar Mosharraf Hossain and Shah Md Khasruzzaman, alleging the illegal acquisition of a flat in Eastern Housing Limited's Gulshan-2 project.
According to the case documents, the accused allegedly colluded to abuse their authority and unlawfully take possession of the flat without making any payment, later registering the property in their names.
On January 13 this year, the ACC submitted a charge-sheet against Tulip and Mosharraf. After accepting the charge-sheet, the court issued arrest warrants against them on February 18, and set March 8 as the deadline for submitting a report on the execution of those warrants.
Subsequently, on February 19, the ACC decided to seek the court's permission to request issuing an Interpol Red Notice against Tulip.
In its latest petition, the anti-graft body stated that the accused had left the country before the case was filed and was allegedly attempting to destroy evidence relevant to the prosecution. As she is currently abroad, the ACC opined that her arrest, requiring the issuance of a Red Notice through Interpol, has become necessary.
In recent months, Tulip has been sentenced to six years' imprisonment in three of the six corruption cases filed on charge of irregularities in acquiring plots at RAJUk's Purbachal New Town Project.
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