Brent residents who were constituents of Tulip Siddiq when she was the MP for the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency, will have been following the alleged corruption story with interest. The findings of the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards are perhaps more nuanced than she claimed in her resignation letter yesterday. Here it is in full:
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I shall refrain from rendering an unjust judgment regarding Ms. Siddiq, as it would be inequitable to condemn an individual based solely on information that I possess, which is limited to what has been revealed since the matter became public.
ReplyDeleteShould not Inland Revenue investigate the source of all the money for all the properties and whether there was any money laundering?
ReplyDeleteAs a former (now more than 20 years ago!) Tax Inspector for 25 years, including investigating some very complex cases, I can confirm that gifts of UK residential property by offshore business entities (property which can then later be sold with no chargeable gain arising, where it has been used as the recipient's private residence), is a method which has been used for money laundering in the past.
DeleteHowever, that's not to say that is what happened in Tulip Siddiq's case. I never dealt with her tax affairs, or those of anyone connected with her. It is up to the investigators in Bangladesh to get to the bottom of what happened over the property in her case, if they can.
Just read she has resigned.
ReplyDeleteShould resign, and where are is anti money laundering evidence required for the transfer of property. Surely no solicitor would accept the transfer without such due diligence?
ReplyDelete