The wife and daughter of General Tarique Siddique, former defence adviser to ouster prime minister Sheikh Hasina, were denied Maltese citizenship due to allegations of corruption, money laundering, fraud, and bribery.
Shaheen Siddique, the aunt of UK anti-corruption minister and niece of Sheikh Hasina, Tulip Siddiq, was denied in 2013 by Henley & Partners, which at the time held exclusive rights to administer Malta’s citizenship-by-investment programme, reports the UK daily Financial Times (FT).
The immigration consultancy rejected Shaheen’s application for a Maltese passport, noting her links to a company accused by Bangladeshi media outlets of “illegally obtaining valuable government lands in Dhaka”, FT reported citing documents.
Both Tarique and Shaheen's bank accounts were frozen by Bangladeshi authorities in October 2024 after the fall of the Hasina-led government in the face of a student-led mass uprising in August.
FT reported that the passport application documents contain details of how Tarique’s family, which is now at the centre of concerns about kleptocracy under Sheikh Hasina’s rule, arranged its affairs. The Henley decision refers to allegations from 2012 that a company called Prochhaya, chaired by Shaheen, seized valuable land in Dhaka.
Shaheen listed her role at Prochhaya in her 2013 passport application. Critics of Sheikh Hasina’s government had claimed that Tarique, who was Sheikh Hasina’s military adviser from 2009 until the fall of the government last year, used the country’s security forces to occupy the land for Prochhaya. The company in 2016 sold the land.
Second Application in 2015 and Financial Details
Despite the rejection, Shaheen made another attempt to obtain Maltese citizenship in March 2015. This time, she filed a joint application with her daughter Bushra Siddique. The application outlined costs of €650,000 for Shaheen, €25,000 for Bushra, and an additional €70,000 consultancy fee for Henley & Partners.
As part of the application, Shaheen submitted proof of funds from a dollar-denominated bank account in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The account showed a balance of $2.76 million, deposited over two months in 11 transactions. However, the FT noted that the source of these funds was not specified in the application, raising further concerns.
Bangladesh’s strict foreign exchange regulations prohibit individuals from transferring more than $12,000 out of the country annually, making the deposits highly suspicious.
Learning from the rejection of her first application, Shaheen omitted any mention of Prochhaya in the second attempt. Instead, she listed her involvement with The Art Press Pvt Ltd, a printing company based in Chattogram, established in 1926 by her grandfather. Shaheen claimed to have served as the company’s managing director since 2013.
While Henley & Partners did not find adverse information about The Art Press, internal correspondence revealed doubts about its authenticity. Maltese authorities requested additional details about the company. However, this second application was also ultimately rejected.
Family Connections and Lavish Lifestyle
Bushra Siddique, who was a student in London at the time of the second application, lived near her cousin Tulip Siddiq, the UK’s anti-corruption minister and Sheikh Hasina’s niece.
After completing her studies at University College London, Bushra joined investment bank JPMorgan before transitioning into a career as a lifestyle influencer in 2018. That year, she purchased a five-bedroom house in Golders Green, North London, for £1.9 million jointly with her husband. According to UK Land Registry records, the property was acquired without a mortgage.
In a YouTube interview, Bushra spoke about her privileged background, stating, “I didn’t have to worry about a roof over my head because I had somebody to cover the rent.” She also mentioned that her parents would have supported her if her savings had run out.
The Maltese official gazette confirms that neither Shaheen nor Bushra were granted passports. Henley & Partners also clarified that the applications had not been approved.
The FT report underscores growing concerns about kleptocracy under Sheikh Hasina’s rule, with Tarique Siddique and his family frequently at the center of controversies involving misuse of power and wealth accumulation.
