The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has refused to disclose whether he will profit from a surge in the share price of the Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer Moderna, one of the biggest investments held by the hedge fund he co-founded before entering parliament.
Chancellor’s former hedge fund invested heavily in Moderna, which had 94.5% trial success
A year ago, Sunak declared in the list of ministers’ interests that he was the beneficiary of a blind trust. The contents of the trust have not been disclosed to the public. So much for ministerial transparency.
Stock market filings show that Theleme has a $500m (£377m) investment in the US-based Moderna, which accounts for around 20% of all the money it manages, about $2.5bn.
Shortly after the news of Moderna’s successful trial broke, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, revealed that the government had secured an advance order for 5m doses of the vaccine.
Sunak’s office refused to disclose whether his investments included a stake in Theleme’s fund or Moderna at the time his blind trust was created. A Treasury spokesman said: “The Cabinet Office has set out what are judged to be the relevant interests in the regular list of ministerial interests.”
The chancellor appears to have retained contacts with his former firm. John Sheridan, a partner at Theleme, was reportedly asked by Sunak to build a financial model for the government’s business loans programme. The Treasury spokesperson said it was not unusual for politicians to draw on a range of expertise from outside government, and that Sheridan had access to publicly available data.
Since entering parliament, Sunak has revealed almost nothing about his financial interests. His entry in the MPs’ register is among the shortest – stating only that he owns property worth more than £100,000 and receives rental income of more than £10,000 a year. In November last year, after being promoted to chief secretary to the Treasury, Sunak declared financial interests in a “blind trust/blind management arrangement”.
Commenting on the chancellor’s blind trust last month, the Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, said: “The truth with this trust is that the only people that are blind to it are the public. The chancellor only set up the trust 18 months ago but the public has no idea where the money is or whether there is a conflict of interest. With public trust in this government plummeting, greater transparency in all their dealings is essential and the chancellor must show a lead.”
No other chancellor has used a blind trust since details of ministers’ interests began being published in 2009.
The Treasury spokesperson said blind trusts and blind management arrangements were designed to “ensure ministers are not involved in any decisions on the management, acquisition or disposal of items in the arrangement”.
So basically it seems fair to assume these blind trusts are just a way for MPs like Sunak to hide his interests and income fom the voters. Making him free to award contracts and vote through laws that could directly benefit himself.
Seems like another part of our new Tory Chumocracy to me.
