Infosys founder Narayan Murthy’s son-in-law and UK chancellor Rishi Sunak is under fire as he failed to declare his wife Akshata Murthy’s multimillion-pound assets which make her richer than Queen Elizabeth.
Infosys founder Narayan Murthy’s son-in-law and UK chancellor Rishi Sunak has come under fire for allegedly not disclosing his wife Akshata Murthy’s financial holdings.
According to an investigation by British newspaper The Guardian, Rishi Sunak failed to declare his wife Akshata Murthy’s multimillion-pound assets which make her richer than Queen Elizabeth.
Akshata Murthy reportedly owns shares worth over £430 million (approx Rs 4,200 crore) in her father Narayan Murthy’s tech giant Infosys.
The Queen’s personal wealth is around £350 million (approx Rs 3,400 crore).
As per UK law, all ministers are expected to openly publish financial details of close family members.
Rishi Sunak is bound by the ministerial code, which requires him to declare any financial interests that are “relevant” to his responsibilities, and which could conflict with his duty to the public. Ministers must also declare those interests of their close family, including siblings, parents, spouse and in-laws, which might give rise to a conflict.
However, a probe has found that Sunak’s financial statements mention only his wife’s ownership of a small UK-based venture capital firm called Catamaran Ventures.
Akshata Murthy’s shares in Infosys present a conflict as the company is a contractor to the UK government.
The Guardian report also suggests that Akshata Murthy has undeclared stakes in atleast six other UK companies and holdings including a £900 million-a-year joint venture with Amazon India.
Now calls are being made for the UK government ethics watchdog to investigate the code breach allegations against Rishi Sunak.
However, internal advisers of British PM Boris Johnson have reportedly expressed satisfaction with the manner and content of Rishi Sunak’s financial disclosures and said he followed the ministerial code of conduct to the letter.ADVERTISEMENT
Rishi Sunak, Infosys’s Narayan Murthy’s son-in-law, co-founded a London-based global investment firm which helps in funding small British businesses. Akshata Murthy, the daughter of Narayana Murthy, was Sunak’s classmate at Stanford Business School. They got married in 2009 and have two kids – Krishna and Anoushka.
He was elected as a Conservative MP from Richmond (Yorks) in 2015, 2017 and 2019. In February 2020, he was promoted from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to the Chancellor of the Exchequer which is the equivalent of finance minister.