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Tulip Siddique, the finance minister responsible for the City of London, has been named in an application in a Bangladesh court accusing her family of embezzling $5 billion, the country's high court said in an inquiry into the matter. had ordered

Siddiqui has refused to comment publicly on claims related to a $12 billion nuclear power plant by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina - Siddiqui's aunt - and Bangladesh with Russian aid.

A Downing Street spokesman said the prime minister was not concerned about the allegations and "the minister has denied any involvement in the allegations".

“So far this is media speculation regarding the investigation. We have not seen any formal details and officials concerned with the minister have not been contacted," he said.

"There is a process for ministers to declare relevant interests, the minister has done so where appropriate," he added.

Siddique UK's Economic Secretary to the Treasury and a close friend of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. She has been the MP for Hampstead and Highgate since 2015.

The court application was brought by Bobby Hajjaj, a political opponent of Sheikh Hasina and president of the Nationalist Democratic Movement Party of Bangladesh, who has alleged corruption in the Rooppur nuclear power plant project.

At estimated cost About $12 billionIt is one of the largest infrastructure projects in the history of Bangladesh so far. The power plant is being built by Russia's state-owned nuclear company Rosatom.

Hajjaj alleged in September in a filing with the Bangladesh High Court that the deal with Rosatom inflated the price of the nuclear plant and distributed $5 billion to Sheikh Hasina and her family.

According to court documents seen by the Financial Times, the High Court earlier this week ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate Hajjaj's embezzlement claims. The ACC did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.

"A significant part of this money ended up in the UK," Hajjaj told the FT, urging Starmer's government to "robustly investigate" the allegations about Siddiq. "He should ideally be suspended," he said.

Labor officials said they were trying to establish the facts of the case and said Siddique was not commenting at this time. He has told colleagues that he has not been contacted by the ACC.

A labor official said, “Anyone can complain to the ACC.

In January 2013, Siddiq traveled to the Kremlin with Sheikh Hasina as part of a delegation to the signing of a nuclear and weapons agreement between Bangladesh and Russia.

At the event, Vladimir Putin gave Bangladesh a $1 billion loan to buy weapons and $500 million to help build Rooppur, the South Asian country's first nuclear power plant.

Sheikh Hasina, who was pictured standing with Siddiq and Putin, said the financing for the nuclear power plant was "a shining example of our deep engagement".

Downing Street insisted that Starmer had full confidence in Siddiqui, but the allegations have caused consternation in senior government circles. "It's complicated," said a senior government official.

Last month Starmer promptly sacked his transport secretary Louise Hague after previous fraud allegations relating to mobile phones were revealed, fearing a drop in negative stories about the minister.

Siddiqui represents Starmer's neighboring seat in North London and the two MPs are close family friends.

Sheikh Hasina fled to India in early August after student-led protests ended her 15-year rule. His Awami League has been accused by political opponents and human rights groups of rigging elections, extrajudicial killings and seizing state institutions.

Sheikh Hasina and colleagues face a The number of probes Regarding the alleged looting of the state treasury by the caretaker government of Bangladesh.

In a speech broadcast earlier this month, Sheikh Hasina accused Bangladesh's interim leader and Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus of being the "mastermind" of the violence and uprising that ousted him from power. His son has also denied allegations of corruption and authoritarian abuses.

The Awami League has alleged that Yunus has "weaponised" the judiciary and law enforcement agencies against them. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ACC investigation.

A spokesman for the interim government declined to comment.