Who is Akshata Murty, the wife of Rishi Sunak as the prime minister faces new investigation into interests

Rishi Sunak faces another political challenge as reports have emerged that the Prime Minister is set to be investigated for possibly “failing to declare his interests” regarding a business that his wife, Akshata Murty, has shares in. It’s the latest controversy regarding Akshata Murthy, having been in the spotlight due to her tax status as a non-domicile individual in 2022, leading her to announce she would be paying taxes as a resident in the United Kingdom.

The inquiry into the possible failure to declare an interest stems from the couple’s ties to UK childcare agency Koru Kids. The agency was founded in 2016 by Rachel Carrell, and has received funding from various investors, including Rishi Sunak's wife Akshata Murty, who holds shares in the company; that investment has now been deemed as a potential conflict of interest with speculation if Sunak had an “honest and open” conversation regarding his relationship to the agency.

Last month, Mr Sunak faced questions over shares his wife holds in Koru Kids, a childcare agency that could benefit from a new policy unveiled in the spring Budget, with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announcing a pilot of payments for new childminders, with more for those who sign up through agencies. Murty was listed as a shareholder in one of those agencies, Koru Kids, as recently as March 2023 with the investigation set to  determine whether Mr Sunak has broken rules. Any sanctions would be decided by the Committee on Standards.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: "We are happy to assist the commissioner to clarify how this has been transparently declared as a ministerial interest," similar to when Sunak and Murty were being investigated regarding non-dom tax status and a green card Sunak still had as a citizen of the United States - two controversies in what has felt like a rather calmer political ocean compared to the reigns of Johnson and (the very short reign of) Liz Truss.

For her part in both the non-dom saga and now this latest conflict of interest, Murty has always maintained alongside Sunak a level of honesty somewhat. When it was discovered about her non-dom status, she did put her hands up and admit she would now start paying into the UK tax fund - though some suggested she was only sorry when she was caught.

Given her background as the daughter of N.R Narayana Murty, who made his money as co-founder of Infosys, a multinational corporation providing business consulting, information technology, and outsourcing services, then perhaps it wasn’t quite the right time for her to announce her shareholder status with Koru Kids - after the Budget maybe.

She studied Economics and French in California and later obtained an MBA from Stanford University, where she met Rishi Sunak, subsequently marrying him in a lavish two-day wedding ceremony attended by Indian cricket legend Anil Kumble in 2009. 

After working as a marketing director, she launched her own fashion label, upasana, but that eventually collapsed. However, alongside Rishi, she owns Catamaran Ventures UK and is listed as a shareholder in several other companies, including Jamie Oliver's Pizzeria and Wendy's restaurants in India. 

Her wealth comes from her 0.91% stake in Infosys, which is valued at £690m as of writing, leading Murty to have a combined net worth including other assets and investments of £730m in 2023; to put that into perspective, she was worth more than Queen Elizabeth II during her reign as monarch, and exponentially speaking she looks set to break into billionaire status within the next two years.

Whether after this latest incident involving Sunak and the parliamentary standards watchdog that is affected though, remains to be seen and if so, to what potential excuse will be issued on this occasion regarding her finances?