Saima Wazed, the World Health Organization’s Southeast Asia regional director and a daughter of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, resigned on Wednesday, following fraud investigations by the UN agency and Bangladeshi authorities.

In her resignation letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, seen by Reuters, Wazed said she had lost all trust and confidence in his leadership and that her financial situation had become untenable after nearly a year without pay.

“I was elected to the position of Regional Director in order to serve the countries in my region, which I had sincerely done,” Wazed wrote. “Since you continue to prevent me from effectively carrying out my duties, I have lost all trust and confidence in your leadership of WHO.”

“Moreover, after nearly one year without any remuneration following your decision to place me on unpaid leave, my financial situation has become untenable. In these circumstances, I am choosing to step aside.”

Wazed, who took office in early 2024 for a five-year term, was first sent on leave in July 2025 after Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission, under the former interim government that replaced Hasina, filed charges against her in March that year alleging fraud and forgery. The WHO later placed her on unpaid administrative leave late last year.

The WHO accused Wazed of “committing financial fraud in relation to her travel to China” and of misrepresenting her academic credentials, according to a letter from her lawyers to the agency dated July 3, 2026 and seen by Reuters.

It also alleged that she had illegally acquired a plot of land in Bangladesh, according to her resignation letter.

Wazed has denied the allegations.

She said she acquired the land before joining the WHO and was entitled to it under a Bangladeshi law covering the families of the country’s independence leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s father.

Wazed declined to comment further. The WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last month, it said Wazed was on leave but declined to comment further about her case in order to maintain confidentiality.

Regional directors are among the world’s most influential health policy officials. Their duties include responding to outbreaks and emergencies and adapting WHO policies to local conditions. They are elected every five years by member states, which include Bangladesh and India in the Southeast Asia region.

In the July letter, Wazed, through her lawyers, denied any travel fraud, describing it as an administrative oversight by an assistant processing routine reimbursement requests and involving $901.

She said she holds an honorary doctorate for her work on autism in Bangladesh and had been clear with Tedros about that qualification.