|
Parliament's Commissioner for Standards began an investigation
on April 13 into whether Sunak properly declared his wife's
holding in a childcare company which stands to benefit from new
government policy.
The prime minister's spokesperson said on Monday that Sunak's
wife's shareholding in Koru Kids had been transparently
declared, and opposition parties called for Sunak to publish an
updated list of ministerial interests to improve transparency.
That list was published by the Cabinet Office on Wednesday, and
refers to Sunak's wife, Akshata Murthy, as a "venture capital
investor".
"She owns a venture capital investment company, Catamaran
Ventures UK Limited, and a number of direct shareholdings," the
document said.
"This includes the minority shareholding that his wife has in
relation to the company, Koru Kids."
The list of ministerial interests said that Sunak's own
financial interests were handled through a "blind trust/blind
management arrangement."
The investigation is an embarrassment for Sunak, who came into
office in October promising to lead a government with integrity
"at every level" as he sought to revive his party's fortunes
ahead of a national election expected next year.
Sunak and Murthy are the richest ever occupants of 10 Downing
Street. Murthy is the daughter of one of the founders of Indian
IT giant Infosys and owns about 0.9% of the company.
The couple faced criticism and public anger while Sunak was
finance minister over Murthy's "non-domiciled" tax status which
meant she did not pay tax in Britain on her earnings abroad. She
subsequently gave up the status and said she would pay British
tax on her global income.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout, Editing by William Maclean)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
