Would-be PM Rishi Sunak was last night accused of a potential conflict of interest over his wife’s links to Shell.
Akshata Murty owns an estimated £690 million stake in her father’s firm Infosys, which last year signed a lucrative pact with the money-spinning oil giant.
Shell this week posted mammoth profits of £9.5bn - doubling its earnings in a single year amid rocketing energy prices.
The whopping sums come as families in the UK face rocketing bills and a cost of living crisis.
The Tories have faced calls to impose a windfall tax on energy giants to relieve the burden on families struggling to heat and light their homes.
But links between Mr Sunak’s family firm and Shell - the second largest oil company in the world - have raised concerns over competing interests.
Howard Cox, founder of FairFuelUK, said: “It can’t be right our Prime Minister or any Government minister has links with commercial concerns that may conflict with the best interest of the nation’s finances.
“Even if those links are indirectly through family connections their hidden influence may still sway decisions that impact on all our lives.”
Mr Cox called for an independent body to ensure “complete propriety in any, past, present or future dealings with big business” before either Mr Sunak or Liz Truss become Prime Minister in September.
Although Ms Murty is a minority shareholder in Infosys, an Indian tech firm founded by her billionaire father N.R. Narayana Murthy, her stake still saw her collect an estimated £11.5 million in dividend payments over the last year.
Last year, Shell and Infosys announced the “Shell Inventory Optimizer” to streamline the oil giant’s processes.
The technology uses artificial intelligent to enable shell to cut down on time and labour costs. It is said to have delivered Shell “millions of dollars in benefits”.
Ms Murty’s spokesman previously said she is “one of many minority shareholders and has no involvement in the operational decisions of the company”.
In March, it was revealed Ms Murty used her non-dom status to save an estimated £20million in taxes.
Mr Sunak’s campaign team and Shell declined to comment.
