UK PM Rishi Sunak is under pressure as Infosys continues to operate in Russia
Earlier this year in April, Indian IT firm behemoth Infosys announced that it was going to move its business out of Russia. However, months after making the announcement, the company is still operating from Moscow, per a Guardian report, putting the spotlight on UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose wife Akshata Murty receives annual dividends from the company.
According to reports, Infosys still has a staffed office on its roster in the Russian capital and is simultaneously paying subcontractors to carry out IT services for a global client.
However, in April, Infosys chief executive and managing director Salil Parekh said, “Given what is going on in the region, we have started to transition all of our work from our centers in Russia to our centers outside Russia.”
“We have no work with any Russian client today and we have no plans for any work with any Russian client going ahead,” he added.
Opposition leaders are now gunning for Sunak’s head saying the Russians are funding his household whose address has changed to 10, Downing Street just a few weeks back.
“It’s utterly scandalous that six months after Infosys said it would urgently pull out of Russia, the Sunak family could be materially benefiting from Moscow-based operations,” Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader was quoted as saying by the publication.
Even in the lead-up to the elections, Sunak was forced to explain details about how he managed his family’s fortune, which is said to total $840 million and has led to him being routinely referred to as the UK’s richest MP.
The majority of Sunak’s fortune is derived from his marriage to Akshata who owns a 0.93 per cent stake worth $794 million in Infosys.
Reports of Akshata touted to be wealthier than British Queen Elizabeth II with assets worth $495 million has always irked the British public and the recent reports of Infosys staying in Russia is expected to invite more scathing criticism.
As reported by WION, Akshata was able to save millions of pounds in tax on dividends, which were collected from her family’s IT business.
Last year, she earned a dividend payment worth 11.6 million pounds ($15.1 million). It was only after the controversy snowballed and threatened to hurt Sunak that Akshata agreed to pay more tax on foreign income.
(With inputs from agencies)
