A senior Whitehall official revealed that a number of people were formally approached by NCA officials about the matter in 2020. The NCA said it was seeking information on multi-millionaire Mr Zahawi’s finances, the source said. The investigation was codenamed “Operation Catalufa” and is believed to involve the agency’s International Corruption Unit. Catalufa, known as “Popeye Catalufa”, is a species of orange-colored ray-finned fish found in deep waters in the Pacific Ocean. Whitehall officials were told the investigation was top secret and that Mr Zahawi had not been briefed on it. The NCA investigation did not lead to any action against Mr Zahawi. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on his part. The first Mr Zahawi learned of the matter was when he was briefed by the Independent on Wednesday. His initial reaction was: “There has been no such investigation since [the] NCA. I would have known. Correctly?” When told that The Independent had found that the NCA had looked into his business affairs, he replied: “The NCA has never approached me or said anything to me in my career.” He added: “I have paid all taxes due and obeyed all financial laws and regulations.” Asked if Mr Johnson was aware of the NCA investigation when he appointed Mr Zahawi as chancellor, a No 10 spokesman said: “All checks have been carried out.” Pressed to say whether Johnson had been informed of the investigation into Mr Zahawi, the spokesman added: “The usual pre-appointment statements have been made by the minister and the necessary checks have been completed.” The Zahawi/NCA conundrum began several days ago when Dominic Cummings, the former senior No 10 minister, posted a sarcastic tweet about the ex-cabinet reshuffle talks with Mr Johnson in which he described how the personal and political weaknesses of ministers. Referring to the characterization of an unnamed cabinet minister, Mr Cummings’ tweet said: “Under investigation by NCA (don’t know).” The identity of Mr Zahawi as the minister referred to by Mr Cummings was revealed to the Independent by a separate source with detailed knowledge of the police investigation. The person also said Mr Zahawi was not aware of the NCA investigation. “They didn’t tell him why they were trawling for information,” the person said. The row comes less than 24 hours after Mr Zahawi replaced Rishi Sunak at the Treasury. If Mr Johnson is ousted as Prime Minister, the loyalist Mr Zahawi, a popular figure among Tory MPs, is one of the main contenders to succeed him. Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi poses for a photo outside the Ministry of Finance (PA) Zahawi, 55, was born in Iraq and came to the UK as a child when his Kurdish family fled Saddam Hussein’s regime. He made his fortune with online polling company YouGov and was CEO of Gulf Keystone Petroleum until 2018. He became MP for Stratford-upon-Avon in 2010. He was appointed Children’s Minister in 2018 and was promoted to Business Minister the following year. After winning praise for his success as vaccine minister during the pandemic, he joined the cabinet as education secretary last September. Mr Zahawi cut his teeth in politics following Geoffrey Archer’s unsuccessful bid in the 1990s to become mayor of London. Archer dropped out of the competition after he was found to have lied in a libel case. He was later jailed for the crime. Mr. Zahawi was unrelated to the matter. Mr Zahawi was embroiled in the MPs’ expenses scandal and “profusely apologised” in 2013 after it was reported he claimed £5,822 in electricity costs for his riding school’s stables and a yard manager’s caravan. The NCA did not respond to a request for comment.
