Bangladesh ex-PM Hasina's daughter quits top UN job after fraud allegations
Sheikh Hasina's daughter Saima Wazed quits her top UN job at the WHO after a corruption conviction and fraud allegations in Bangladesh
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Saima Wazed (L) resigned from her WHO post after Bangladesh's anti-corruption commission opened cases against her.
Reuters/File
The World Health Organization said Friday that Saima Wazed, the agency's Southeast Asia chief and daughter of Bangladesh's ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, has resigned.
Wazed stepped down on Wednesday and the WHO confirmed the move two days later.
Why did Sheikh Hasina's daughter resign from the WHO?
Wazed resigned from her WHO post after Bangladesh's anti-corruption commission opened cases against her and her family over an alleged land grab of valuable plots in a Dhaka suburb.
The WHO said its Regional Committee had already recommended terminating her appointment before she quit, and she had been on unpaid leave since 2025.
What happened to Sheikh Hasina in court?
Wazed was convicted in absentia in November by a court in Dhaka on corruption charges and sentenced to five years in prison. She has denied her guilt.
Her mother, Hasina, who was overthrown in 2024 by a student-led uprising, was found guilty of crimes against humanity in 2025, also in absentia, and sentenced to death by hanging.
Is Sheikh Hasina still in India?
Hasina remains in hiding in India. Bangladesh has requested her extradition, which New Delhi has said remains "under examination." Despite the death sentence she faces, Hasina has said she will return to Bangladesh of her own volition in December.
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