LONDON – Is there a conflict of interest that calls into question British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's policy toward Israel? Perhaps the answer is not only related to Sunak's position on the current Israeli occupation aggression on the Gaza Strip. It is from repeated accusations that have followed him since he took over the treasury portfolio, because of the wealth of his wife, Akashta Murti.
Morty, who was previously described by the British press as "richer than the Queen", has investments in Israel through an Indian company, and those investments were damaged by Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and the occupation aggression on the Gaza Strip.
The question that Al Jazeera Net is trying to search for an answer, was also repeated because of Sunak's wife's investments in Russia at the time of its war with Ukraine, as well as questions two months ago about the conflict of interest regarding a huge trade deal between the United Kingdom and the Indian company "Infosys", in which Sunak's wife contributes, and her father is one of the most prominent founders. This prompted the British press and Labour to demand that Sunak be investigated over conflicts of interest.
Sunak was also summoned for investigation in March on suspicion of conflict of interest related to a childcare company owned by his wife in the UK, and after 5 months of investigation, Sunak failed to provide sufficient documents to the inquiry committee, apologizing to the public, considering it an unintentional mistake.
His wife Sunak "Akashta Murty" was described by the British newspaper The Guardian in 2020 as "richer than the Queen" (Getty Images)
Richer than the queen
Since he was finance minister, Sunak has failed to register his wife's business, Akashta Murti, which is related to his political decisions, especially as she officially shares the income of the prime minister's family. The British newspaper The Guardian described her in 2020 as "richer than the Queen", exposing the prime minister to numerous accusations of conflict of interest, whenever his political decisions are linked to the prosperity of his wife's business.
Morty's participation in the annual family budget is estimated at £12 million from her dividends in India's Infosys, as well as being the main heiress to her father, billionaire Narnar Murti, one of the Indian giants' biggest founders.
Infosys contributes about 8% of India's gross national income, as it is one of the largest Indian companies specialized in information technology, technical and cyber research, artificial intelligence and electronic censorship, which imposes a political character on the company's decisions, which extended its cooperation with several countries, including Israel.
In August, Britain's Sunday Times reported that there were allegations that Sunak's family could benefit financially from a trade deal Britain is negotiating with India. It quoted lawmakers and trade experts as saying there were concerns at the highest levels of government about potential "transparency" issues related to the prime minister's wife's $500 million stake in India's international company Infosys.
Morty shares about £12 million in the British prime minister's annual family budget from India's Infosys profits (Reuters)
Infosys investments in Israel
Israel signed an agreement of understanding with Infosys in 2012, where the Israeli government represented the Office of the Chief Scientist of Israel for Studies and Research, an office specialized in the field of development and information technology research, and many ministers praised the agreement.
Parent Infosys also invested in Israeli startup Cloudyn in 2016 for about $4 million. In less than a year, Microsoft acquired Claudine, and Microsoft included her in its development and research center, but without disclosing the details of the deal, which the Israeli press estimated between (50-70) million dollars.
In 2015, Infosys acquired the Israeli company Panaya for $230 million in a deal in which he filed numerous complaints, followed by a wave of resignations among senior Infosys employees, including a board member, objecting to the value of the deal, which they considered suspiciously exaggerated.
Four years later, Infosys' attempts to sell Banya failed, which analysts interpreted as a complaints scandal, prompting Infosys to stop attempts to sell and began expanding its activities inside Israel.
Infosys contributes about 8% of India's gross national income, one of the largest technology companies (Reuters)
Infosys and the "Flood of Al-Aqsa"
With the escalation of the occupation aggression on the Gaza Strip, the CEO of Infosys, Salil Parekh, said last Thursday that all Infosys employees in Israel are fine, but he refused to answer any information regarding the size of the company's employment in Israel, arguing that the employment is in local Infosys offices, insisting on not mentioning the numbers.
In conjunction with the aggression and its negative effects on the occupation economy, the market value of Infosys fell from $ 71 billion to $ 68 billion.
Sunak's father-in-law, Nariana Murti, is the company's most prominent founder and has been affected by the company's falling market value. According to the Forbes index, his wealth fell to $ 4.3 billion out of $ 4.5 billion, before the start of the "maximum flood" operations.
Economic analysis sites indicated that nine major companies were affected by the Israeli aggression, including Infosys, whose shares fell 8% on the stock exchange this week.
In the same context, the American newspaper "CNBS" published a report on the 11 most important news stories in the world, in which it included the war between Israel and Hamas and the decline in the shares of the Indian company "Infosys", which shows the link between its investments and stability in Israel.
Is Parliament investigating?
Al Jazeera Net contacted the commissioner of the Standards Committee in Parliament, to find out whether there is an investigation related to the existence of a conflict of interest, regarding Sunak's decisions biased policy for the Israeli occupation, but the office refused to comment on the report of Al Jazeera Net, under policies that prevent the commissioner's comment on the behavior of members of parliament outside the scope of ongoing investigations, or that have been decided on the website of the Standards Committee.
At the end of the latest conflict of interest investigation, Sunak had promised to disclose and register any potential conflicts of interest if necessary, but so far he has not officially announced the extent of his wife's business in Israel, and the impact of this on his political decisions related to the occupation aggression on the Gaza Strip.
British law requires all MPs and officials to register their potential interests in advance, but in general it is difficult for investigators to take strong positions on conflict of interest suspicions, as current conduct laws prohibit conflicts of interest investigations without a definitive decision on conflicts of interest investigations, which was approved by a parliamentary report on government transparency issued in May 2021.
The parliamentary report recommended working on new legislation that would expand the powers of an independent investigative commissioner, instead of the current situation that allows the prime minister to invalidate the investigation at any stage, which the report considered a duplication of roles that harms transparency.
Sunak's position on Israel
Sunak's support for Israel has been evident since taking office, asserting in July 2023 what he called "Israel's right to defend itself against terrorist organizations."
During the current aggression on the Gaza Strip, Sunak reiterated his support for Israel and went to Tel Aviv for a solidarity visit on October 19.
He tweeted: "I am in Israel, a nation in grief. I grieve with you, and I stand with you against the evil of terrorism. Today and always." He followed it up with a second tweet expressing sympathy for the families of prisoners arrested by the Palestinian resistance, and said he would work with partners "to release them from terrorists."