Rishi Sunak declares wife’s link to childcare firm amid probe

London, April 19

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has declared his wifes shareholding in a childcare company that could benefit from a new government policy, four years after she invested in the firm, a much-delayed new register of ministers interests has shown, according to a media report.

In a footnote to his entry on the register, Sunak declares that among "a number of direct shareholdings" owned by his wife, Akshata Murty, is a "minority shareholding" in Koru Kids, one of six companies involved in a pilot scheme to incentivise people to become childminders, The Guardian reported.

Sunak's full entry for family interests says: "The Prime Minister's wife is a venture capital investor. She owns a venture capital investment company, Catamaran Ventures UK Limited, and a number of direct shareholdings," The Guardian reported.

This links to a footnote, which mentions the shareholding in Koru Kids.

The UK Prime Minister is being investigated by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, over whether he properly declared his wife's shareholdings.

One potential complication for Sunak is that Greenberg is expected to look into whether the Prime Minister should have declared the interest last month when questioned by a committee of MPs, where the rules are stricter than for registering interests.

--IANS