Rishi Sunak Accused of Having ‘Something to Hide’ After Burying Post-Downing Street Interests Behind Financial ‘Firewall’

Rishi Sunak, who previously promised a new era of “accountability” and insisted that “transparency is really important for the healthy functioning of democracy,” has placed his ongoing financial interests behind an opaque arrangement designed to hide them from public view.

On November 5 this year, just days after he stepped down as Conservative leader, Sunak registered a new consultancy company with his wife.

The new firm, called “The Office of Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak” was initially incorporated with Companies House as a limited company operating out of central London.

However, three days after news broke of Sunak’s new company, the pair made the decision to re-register the business with Companies House, switching from a limited to an ‘unlimited’ model.

This may seem like a subtle difference, but it is one which has huge implications for transparency and allows Sunak to avoid publishing annual company accounts – a key document that allows journalists and the public to scrutinise the former PM’s earnings and business activity since leaving office. 

The re-registration documents were personally signed off by Sunak and Murty on November 10, with Sunak declaring that he is the Chairman of the new secretive enterprise. 

Little is known about Sunak’s new venture, firstly because the company has no website and secondly because nothing about it has appeared in the current register of members interests that was last published on 25 November. 

Unsurprisingly the only directors listed for the firm are Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty. However, while Murty has listed her occupation as a company director, Sunak has described his current occupation as “none” – despite being the current serving Member of Parliament for the North Yorkshire constituency of Richmond and Northallerton. 

The decision to switch from a limited company to an unlimited company is not standard practice.

Former Prime Minister’s Liz Truss and Boris Johnson both established similar companies upon leaving office, but to date have committed to publishing company accounts. 

David Cameron, however has opted for a similar set-up as the Sunak’s and his current company “The Office of David Cameron” was re-registered as an unlimited company back in 2020.

The lack of transparency around Lord Cameron’s financial dealings raised concerns when he was appointed Foreign Secretary by Sunak in 2023, following his involvement in a major lobbying scandal.

Transparency campaigners criticised Sunak’s decision to hide his business activities.

“Increasingly, Prime Ministers continue to play a role in political life after they step back from the frontbench, and receive an allowance to support these activities,” Steve Goodrich Head of Research and Investigations  at Transparency International UK told Byline Times.

“Given the quasi-public function of former Prime Ministerial offices, there is a strong public interest in their finances being open to scrutiny.

“Structuring this office to allow non-disclosure of the details of the company’s annual accounts is bound to raise suspicion that there is something to hide.”

---

Government Blocks Bid to Reveal Sunak’s ‘Blind Trust’

Concerns over Rishi Sunak’s business dealings do not end with his latest business venture, however.

For nearly two years campaign group Good Law Project has been locked in a battle with the Cabinet Office to publish details of the “blind trust” used by Sunak to manage his financial investments whilst he worked in Government.

Between 2019 and 2023, tax statements published by the UK Government revealed that Sunak declared over £6 million in earnings, via his income, dividends and capital gains.

During this time, Sunak served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer before subsequently replacing Liz Truss as Prime Minister – remarkably the public have no idea how Sunak was able to amass this fortune, because details of his investments were shielded from public scrutiny.

Pressured while Prime Minister to release his tax returns, Sunak eventually released a summarised document, which revealed that the majority of his income during this period was paid to him via a “US-based Investment fund.

However, further details of those investments have never been released – a decision that the Good Law Project (GLP) is now challenging.

Sunak’s family financial arrangements came under greater scrutiny after it was revealed that his wife had links to companies awarded contracts by his Government.

Since April 2023, the Cabinet Office has prevented disclosure of details relating to Sunak’s investments, so GLP decided to raise the matter with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the watchdog responsible for monitoring compliance with transparency rules. 

The ICO have now decided that the Government should tell them the name of the “US-based” investment firm that controlled Sunak’s portfolio during his time in office, but remarkably Keir’s Starmer’s government is continuing to block release of this vital information and the Cabinet Office has instead taken the drastic action of taking the ICO to a tribunal in an effort to avoid handing over the details. The case is likely to be heard this week.

A spokesperson for the Good Law Project said: “Labour were elected on a manifesto that said restoring public trust in politics “will require a reset in our public life; a clean-up that ensures the highest standards of integrity and honesty”.

“But in stark contrast, the Cabinet Office’s continued refusal to share this information shows an alarming disregard for the principles of honesty and integrity, which Labour was so keen to trumpet.

“This is not just about Rishi Sunak. The outcome of next week’s hearing will have much wider implications for what all of us are told about the financial interests of the people running our country – whoever they are”.

Rishi Sunak’s office was approached for comment but had not responded by the time of publication.