Sunak asks PM for investigation into his own financial affairs

theguardian.com:

Rishi Sunak has written to the prime minister to ask for an investigation into his own affairs after days of criticism over his wife’s “non dom” tax status and lack of transparency over their financial affairs.

The chancellor wrote to Boris Johnson asking him for a referral to Lord Geidt, the independent adviser, requesting a review of all his declarations since becoming a minister in 2018.

Sunak said he was confident it would find “all relevant information was properly declared” on the advice of officials. It follows criticism that his entry on the list of ministers’ interests contains no mention of Akshata Murty’s £690m stake in Indian company Infosys – which has UK government contracts.

He is also facing scrutiny over his investments held in a blind management arrangement, with his spokesperson declining to say which jurisdiction they are held in or when the arrangement was formed. Sunak has come under pressure over whether his decision to keep a US green card conferring permanent residency for 19 months while chancellor represents a conflict of interest with his UK government role.

However, the inquiry requested by Sunak will cover only his ministerial career, and there is still a mystery over his lack of any declaration of financial interests from the time he became an MP in 2015 until 2018, when he became a minister and formed a blind management arrangement.

Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, has also written to Johnson and