U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under investigation over allegations he failed to disclose shares his wife owns.
His wife, Akshata Murty is said to own shares in a child care business that stands to benefit from his government’s budget.
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Daniel Greenberg opened an inquiry last week for possible violations of the code of conduct that calls on members to be “open and frank” in declaring relevant financial interests, according to an update given to members of Parliament who returned Monday from Easter break.
Parliament requires members to disclose financial interests within four weeks of something they said or actions they took that may have been influenced by a financial interest.
A Sunak spokesperson says he did not make a declaration as a member of parliament but had recorded a “ministerial interest,” the equivalent disclosure for government ministers.
The government’s budget announced last month includes a massive expansion of free child care for working families with children from 9 months to 4 years old.
The plan included financial incentives to people who joined the child care profession and doubled the incentive if it was done through a private agency.
Murty is the daughter of the co-founder of Indian IT giant Infosys and her wealth is estimated at around $700 million.
Sunak had promised “integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level” when he came to power in October after the short reign of Liz Truss and the scandal-tainted premiership of Boris Johnson.
He has since received a police fine for not wearing a seatbelt on top of another for breaching lockdown rules when he was finance minister under Johnson.
