UK's ex-PM Rishi Sunak rejoins banking world, to donate salary to charity

London: Britain’s former prime minister Rishi Sunak has rejoined the banking world as he took charge of a new role as Senior Adviser at the Goldman Sachs Group, with plans to donate his earnings to the education charity he recently set up with his wife Akshata Murty.

The US-headquartered multinational investment bank where Sunak worked prior to entering politics made the announcement on Tuesday after the requisite 12-month period lapsed since the British Indian leader's ministerial office term concluded, following a defeat in the general election on July 4 last year.

The UK Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, which is required to sign off on jobs taken on by former ministers for at least two years after they leave office, gave its nod with a series of conditions “to mitigate the potential risks to the government” over the access of privileged information Sunak would have as a former PM.

It also noted that the salary from his new job would go towards the Richmond Project, a charity announced earlier this year as a joint initiative with Murty focussed on improving the mathematics and numeracy skills among children and young people in England.

“Goldman Sachs has a significant interest in UK government policy. As the former Prime Minister, there is a reasonable concern that your appointment could be seen to offer unfair access and influence within the UK government,” reads the advice of the committee published this week.

“You and Goldman Sachs have confirmed to the committee that the role will not involve lobbying the government, which all former ministers are prevented from doing for two years on leaving office. The committee considered that it would be difficult to mitigate the risk of perceived lobbying if you initiated engagement of any kind with the UK government in this role, noting this is not your stated intention,” it notes.

Under the stipulations, Sunak is required not to draw on any privileged information available to him from his time in ministerial office.

“For two years from your last day in ministerial office, your role with the Goldman Sachs Group Inc should be limited to providing advice on strategy, macroeconomic and geopolitical matters that do not conflict with your time as Prime Minister (including where you are working with parent companies, subsidiaries, partners and clients of Goldman Sachs),” the committee adds.

It highlights that the advice was not an “endorsement” of Sunak’s new role but is aimed at protecting the integrity of the government. The publication of the committee's decision coincided with Goldman Sachs issuing a statement to welcome the British Indian politician, who continues in his role as a backbench Conservative Party MP for Richmond and Northallerton.

“In his role, he will work with leaders across the firm to advise our clients globally on a range of important topics, sharing his unique perspectives and insights on the macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape. He will also spend time with our people around the world, contributing to our culture of ongoing learning and development,” said Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon.

Sunak previously worked at Goldman Sachs as a summer intern in Investment Banking in 2000 and later as an analyst between 2001 and 2004.

His career in politics started when he was elected Tory MP in 2015 and went on to be appointed a junior minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer before taking charge as Britain’s first prime minister of Indian heritage in October 2022.