UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak is facing questions over his wife's wealth after accounts indicated that she received millions of pounds in dividends from a firm that is still operating in Russia, Daily Mail reported.
Sunak's wife, Akshata Murthy, has a stake worth hundreds of millions in Infosys, founded by her billionaire father Narayana Murthy.
The Labour Party warned that Sunak has "very serious questions to answer" over Murthy's shares.
Labour Party MP Liam Byrne said: "At a time when we have a responsibility to stand with the Ukrainian people as they resist Russian aggression, this is extremely concerning," Daily mail reported.
Major consultancy firms PwC, KPMG and Accenture have all quit Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, citing a desire to protest against Kremlin's war. By contrast, Infosys is still operating in Moscow.
A Daily Mail analysis has found that over the past year, Infosys made two dividend payments that would have netted Murthy around 11.7 million pounds through her 0.93 per cent holding in the company.
The dividend can be calculated from Infosys' most recent financial results, published in the US.
It consists of a payment of Rs 15 per share, announced in April last year, as well as a second payment of Rs 15 rupees in October last year. The war in Ukraine began months later.
Murthy, who married Sunak in 2009, is one of the wealthiest women in Britain, with a fortune reportedly even larger than the Queen's.
Quizzing the Chancellor about his wife's links to Russia earlier this week, Sky News presenter Jayne Secker asked him: "Are you giving advice to others that you are not following in your own home?"
The Chancellor now faces more pressure over his wife's holdings in Infosys, given that he has warned businesses to "think carefully" about making any investments that would benefit the Moscow regime, Daily Mail reported.
--IANS
san/arm
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU