Akshata Murty, the Chancellor’s wife, owns 0.93% or 39 million shares in Infosys, the Indian tech company founded by her billionaire father, according to Bloomberg. Its share is worth around 27 727 million today, an increase of more than 200 200 million compared to a year ago, due to the increase in the share price. During the same period, Infosys also made two dividend payments that would have earned Murty another 11 11.6 million before taxes, according to an analysis by The Telegraph. It is not known whether Murty retained dividend payments. Lesia Vasilenko, a Ukrainian lawmaker, warned on Friday that companies like Infosys that remained in Russia were helping to “finance bullets that kill children and civilians”. He also called on investors to reject participation in these companies. “Investors are giving their money to grow businesses, but I doubt whether any investor has registered to give money to companies that directly or indirectly contribute to the war in Ukraine,” he told the Telegraph. “So, it’s also a choice for investors. I’m sure many of them are credible, well – connected people, and then going out in public and demanding respect for human rights, and so on, would be blatant hypocrisy. “Every time investors give money to companies operating in Russia, they waive their right to speak out about democratic values that Russia is now destroying and encroaching on with the war in Ukraine.” Infosys has been criticized for keeping an office open in Moscow even after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The company was founded by Ms. Murty’s father, Narayana Murthy, in 1981 and has retained 0.4% stake since leaving in 2014. Merthy, 75, has a fortune of $ 4.5 billion (3, 3.4 billion), according to Forbes. Its stake in Infosys is worth around 10 310 million. The company’s continued presence in Russia is a disgrace to Mr. Sunak and his wife. The chancellor has in the past urged companies to “think very carefully about their investments in Russia and how they can help the Putin regime.” However, when asked on Thursday about his wife’s share in Infosys, he insisted that his family was not involuntarily helping the Kremlin. “I really do not think so,” he told Sky News. “And as I said, the operations of all companies are in their hands.” A spokesman for the chancellor added: “Ms. Mertie is one of the thousands of minority shareholders in the company. “It is a public company and neither she nor any member of her family has any involvement in the company’s business decisions.” Infosys has separately insisted that it “supports and supports peace between Russia and Ukraine.” “Infosys has a small group of employees based in Russia, which serves some of our global customers locally,” the company added. “We do not have active business relations with local Russian companies. “A key priority for Infosys in times of adversity is to continue to provide support to the community. “The company has pledged $ 1 million in relief efforts for the victims of the war in Ukraine.”
