UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has 'serious questions' to answer over wife's wealth

LONDON: 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 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 advising 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)

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