United Kingdom: Rishi Sunak sacks his party’s general secretary

From Great Britain Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sacked his party’s general secretary over a tax scandal. In a letter to Conservative Party chief executive Nadhim Zahawi, Sunak said he was forced to take the step because he promised at the start of his term that his government would stand for “integrity, professionalism and accountability”. Al-Zahawi did not initially comment on his dismissal.

Zahawi served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from July to September 2022 in government ministries. Boris Johnson Liz Truss. In Sunak’s government, Zahawi also had a place in government as a minister without a specific portfolio.

Tax authorities have been investigating Al-Zahawi since April 2021. He is said to have used an offshore company in Gibraltar to avoid paying taxes as a shareholder in opinion research company YouGov, which he co-founded.

Additional payments amounting to more than five million euros

However, when then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed him finance minister in July 2022, Zahawi remained silent about these investigations. He later said he was under the impression that the investigation was just a question. HMRC contradicted this representation. Al-Zahawi should have known that he was part of a serious investigation against himself.

Al-Zahawi was later forced to pay a fine to the tax authorities for his tax scams. He did not inform his party of this either. This fact was not revealed until January 20.

The BBC and other British media estimated the tax liability, including the fine, at around five million pounds (5.7 million euros). Al-Zahawi said that the “error” was due to negligence and not intentionally.