A source said: “This will be a more aggressive version of leak investigations, which will not only investigate who held the sensitive information and who had access to it, but also who if anyone asked to see it. “The investigation will be conducted in view of possible criminal prosecutions because it is against the law to leak someone’s tax status.”
‘Somewhat unpleasant’
A source acknowledged that Mr Sunak would be aware of the specifics of the investment at the point where he initiated the “blind management” agreement in 2019, but insisted that the mechanism meant that “from that point on he has no idea if they would still be there”. or not”. The Ministry of Finance declined to answer questions about the size and composition of the investments or whether any were related to tax havens. Only four other ministers declare “blind management” arrangements on the list of ministers’ interests – all of them peers. Sajid Javid, Mr. Sunak’s predecessor and former investment banker, did not declare financial interests while he was Chancellor. Mr Sunak’s allies also responded to his critics with “somewhat unpleasant” comments “that speculate or are involved in a debate about a woman’s death and what might happen to her property”. It comes after it was reported that the chancellor’s wife would evade taxes of more than 400 400 million if she were to die, due to a 1950s treaty between Britain and India. A source said that the Chancellor’s critics should not “assume what he could do with this estate”. A spokesman for the Cabinet Office said: “The Chancellor provided a complete list of all relevant interests when he first became a minister in 2018, as required by the Ministerial Code. The Independent Adviser on the Interests of the Ministers confirmed that he is completely satisfied with the steps taken by the Chancellor to meet the requirements of the Code. ”
