Labour MP Tulip Siddiq has been sentenced to two years in prison in Bangladesh following a corruption trial.
The former minister, who has strongly denied the allegations, was found guilty of using her influence with her aunt, former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to secure land near the capital of Dhaka.
Ms Siddiq still faces several unresolved charges in the South Asian country.
Since the fall of Ms Hasina’s regime, Bangladeshi prosecutors have launched multiple legal cases against the former prime minister, her family members and key allies.
Ms Siddiq still faces several unresolved charges in the South Asian country
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According to court documents, the MP for Hampstead and Highgate “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”.
Alongside the two-year prison sentence, Judge Rabiul Alam has ordered Ms Siddiq to pay a 100,000 Bangladeshi Taka fine (£620).
If this is unpaid, an additional six months will be added to her prison sentence.
The Labour MP is highly unlikely to serve the sentence.
Bangladeshi prosecutors have launched multiple legal cases against the former prime minister
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Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) previously said that the London-based politician would be tried as a Bangladeshi citizen after alleging the authorities were in possession of her passport and tax number linked to the country.
However, Ms Siddiq’s legal team argued that she “never had” a Bangladeshi ID card and “has not held a passport since she was a child”.
When the proceedings began, the Labour MP accused prosecutors of “peddling false and vexatious allegations that have been briefed to the media but never formally put to me by investigators”.
Her statement 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.”
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Britain currently does not have an active extradition treaty with Bangladesh.
The South Asian country is classed as a 2B country, and therefore judges and lawyers in the UK need to be given strong evidence to approve an extradition request.
Prior to Ms Siddiq’s resignation from her ministerial role in January, Sir Keir Starmer’s ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus said he had not discovered “evidence of improprieties” after an investigation.
However, he added that it was “regrettable” that the Labour MP had not been more aware of the “potential reputational risks” of her ties to the ousted Bangladeshi prime minister.
Just a fortnight ago, Hasina was sentenced to death over her regime’s crackdown against protests which led to her ousting.
She was convicted of crimes against humanity as an estimated 1,400 people died as a result of the police response to the protests.
The former Bangladeshi leader was also handed a 21-year prison sentence last week alongside two of her children over a separate land deal in Dhaka.
She has been exiled in India since the fall of her regime.