Tarique Siddique‍‍`s wife, daughter denied Malta passports

A close associate of deposed Bangladesh former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was denied access to a Maltese citizenship program due to media allegations of “money laundering, corruption, fraud, and bribery,” according to leaked documents.

Shaheen Siddique, the aunt of UK anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq, had her application turned down in 2013 by Henley & Partners, the firm that held exclusive rights to manage Malta’s citizenship-by-investment scheme, as reported by the Financial Times, a British daily.

The immigration consultancy rejected Shaheen’s request for a Maltese passport, citing her associations with a firm accused in Bangladeshi media of “illegally acquiring valuable government lands in

Shaheen is married to Tarique Ahmed Siddique, an army officer who acted as Sheikh Hasina’s security adviser. Following the end of Sheikh Hasina’s 16-year reign, the Bangladeshi authorities froze the bank accounts of both Tarique and Shaheen in October of the previous year because of student-led protests.

The passport application documents reveal how Tarique’s family, which is now scrutinized for kleptocracy during Sheikh Hasina‍‍`s administration, organized its financial matters.

The decision by Henley references 2012 allegations against a company named Prochhaya, led by Shaheen, for seizing prime real estate in Dhaka. Shaheen noted her position with Prochhaya in her passport application from 2013.

Opponents of Sheikh Hasina’s regime asserted that Tarique, who served as her military advisor from 2009 until the government fell last year, exploited the security apparatus to take control of the land for Prochhaya, which sold the property in 2016.

The documents indicate that Shaheen submitted two applications for a Maltese passport in 2013 and 2015. The latter application was submitted jointly with her daughter Bushra, who is also based in London and is the first cousin of Tulip Siddiq, the UK‍‍`s City minister responsible for combating illicit finance. Bushra was listed as a director of Prochhaya, according to a filing from 2011.

The paperwork for the joint application in March 2015 specified that Maltese citizenship would cost €650,000 for Shaheen and €25,000 for Bushra; additionally, Henley would charge a fee of €70,000.

In connection with that application, Shaheen provided a statement from a bank account in Kuala Lumpur showing a balance of $2,760,409 as proof of available funds. The money had been deposited in 11 transactions over the preceding two months. The source of these funds was not stated in the document.

Iftekharuzzaman, the executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, noted that Bangladeshi currency regulations cap the amount individuals can transfer out of the country at $12,000 within a calendar year.

Bushra, who was pursuing her studies in London on a student visa, provided her address as a second-floor flat located in the impressive Gothic edifice that overlooks St Pancras station in central London.

This residence was only a short stroll from her cousin Tulip’s flat near King’s Cross, which Tulip received free of charge from a British Bangladeshi entrepreneur in 2004, as previously reported by the FT.

 The initial passport application submitted in 2013 solely by Shaheen was outright denied by Henley. An internal communication indicated this was due to published reports suggesting she had connections to money laundering, corruption, fraud, and bribery associated with Prochhaya.

In the subsequent passport application filed two years later, jointly with her daughter, Shaheen omitted any mention of Prochhaya. Instead, she identified her enterprise as “The Art Press Pvt Ltd” based in Chattogram, southern Bangladesh.

A Henley staff member stated in an internal email that “although no negative information was found,” the Maltese authorities required additional information about the enterprise.

In response, another staff member noted that the Art Press was “a business founded by Shaheen Siddique’s grandfather in 1926 . . . The Company’s primary business at that time was ‘printing’ . . . Mrs. Shaheen has held the position of Managing Director since 2013.”

The final set of leaked documents from late 2015 lists Shaheen among clients identified as “Cancelled and/or Rejected Applications.” Malta’s official gazette confirms that neither Shaheen nor Bushra obtained a passport.

Bushra remained in the UK following her graduation. Shortly after finishing her studies at University College London, she joined JPMorgan investment bank before leaving to pursue a career as a “lifestyle, fashion, and travel” influencer in 2018.

In a YouTube interview last year, Bushra mentioned that she left her investment banking job after experiencing a period of “struggle.” She chose to resign, despite her father‍‍`s pride in being able to say his daughter worked at a prestigious American bank.

“I come from a privileged background . . . At that time, I was married, so I had a husband. I didn’t have to fret about housing since I had someone to help cover the rent,” she explained.

In 2018, Bushra bought a five-bedroom property in Golders Green, North London, for £1.9 million, co-owned with her husband. Land Registry documents indicate that there is no mortgage on the property.

“I had savings, and I was aware that if those ran out, my parents would be there for me . . . ,” Bushra continued in her YouTube statement.

Bushra Siddique and Shaheen Siddique did not reply to a request for comments. Henley confirmed that no passports were issued to them.

Tarique Ahmed Siddique, who is the subject of an arrest warrant issued this week by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal concerning enforced disappearances, could not be reached for immediate comments.