RISHI Sunak’s wife and family hold a large portfolio of directorships and shareholdings which have not been declared in the register of ministers’ interests, a report has revealed.
The Chancellor is married to Akshata Murthy – the daughter of one of India’s most successful businessman.
Nagavara Ramarao (NR) Narayana Murthy founded the tech firm Infosys, in which Sunak’s wife has £430m worth of shares. This means she has a fortune larger than the Queen.
The ministerial code requires all ministers to declare their, and their close family’s, financial interests which are “relevant” to their roles or could cause conflict with their public duty.
An investigation by The Guardian uncovered that Sunak’s register of interests entry only refers to one family member, his wife, and her ownership of a small venture capital firm.
According to the newspaper, Murthy and her family have several other interests including £1.7bn in Infosys, which has held government and public contracts.
They also list a shareholding by Murthy in a firm which runs restaurants in India and five other firms where she is a director or direct shareholder.
The former chair of the standards in public life committee, Sir Alistair Graham, said it is vital for Sunak for declare the interest.
He went on: “He seems to have taken the most minimalist approach possible to this requirement. Perhaps Rishi Sunak should carefully read the ‘Seven principles of Public Life’ to make sure he is fulfilling the two principles of ‘Honesty and Leadership’.”
The Treasury told the newspaper that all proper procedures for declaring interests were followed, and it was civil servants and independent advisers who decide what to declare rather than ministers themselves.
A spokesperson for the department added that Boris Johnson’s independent adviser on ministerial interests was “completely satisfied with the Chancellor’s propriety of arrangements”, adding Sunak has “followed the ministerial code to the letter”.
Sunak and Murthy did not respond to the requests for comment.
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