Ousted Bangladesh PM Hasina's son denies corruption charges in $12.65 bn nuclear deal

A deal for two power plants, each with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts, was signed in 2015.

Bangladesh’s new regime headed by Muhammed Yunus has sought the extradition of Sheikh Hasina from India. Image- FP

Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son and adviser on Tuesday described allegations of corruption involving the family in the 2015 awarding of a $12.65 billion nuclear power contract as ”completely bogus” and a ”smear campaign”.

Bangladesh’s Anti Corruption Commission said on Monday it had launched an enquiry into allegations of corruption, embezzlement and money laundering in the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project, backed by Russia’s state-owned Rosatom.

A deal for two power plants, each with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts, was signed in 2015.

The commission has alleged that there were financial irregularities worth about $5 billion involving Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed and her niece and British treasury minister Tulip Siddiq, through offshore accounts.

A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Siddiq had denied any involvement in the claims and that he had confidence in her. Siddiq would continue in her role, the spokesperson added.

In August, Bangladeshi media quoted Rosatam as rejecting an earlier media allegation of corruption, saying it was ”committed to transparent working practices, strict anti-corruption policies, and openness in all procurement processes”.

Wazed, speaking on behalf of the family, said they were the targets of a political witch hunt in Bangladesh.

”These are completely bogus allegations and a smear campaign. My family nor I have ever been involved or taken any money from any government projects,” he told Reuters from Washington, where he lives.

”It is not possible to siphon off billions from a $10 billion project. We also don’t have any offshore accounts. I have been living in the U.S. for 30 years, my aunt and cousins in the UK for a similar amount of time. We obviously have accounts here, but none of us have ever seen that kind of money.”

Bangladesh’s new regime headed by Muhammed Yunus has sought the extradition of Sheikh Hasina from India.

Since her ouster as the Bangladeshi premier in August, Hasina has been living in India in exile.

After weeks of protests against her 15-year rule, demonstrators backed by radical Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami and the Bangladeshi military overthrew Hasina in August. As the military turned against her, she fled to India for her life.