Indian IT giant plays down Russia ties after UK finance chief grilled

MUMBAI: India’s Infosys played down its business ties in Russia on Friday after British finance minister Rishi Sunak came under fire over his wife’s stake in the IT giant.

Infosys, with a market value of some $100 billion, was co-founded by Sunak’s father-in-law N. R. Narayana Murthy. His daughter Akshata Murthy, Sunak’s wife, owns a stake worth around $1 billion.

With Britain and others seeking to isolate Russia economically over its invasion of Ukraine, Sunak was grilled in an interview with Sky News on Thursday about Infosys and his wife’s share. Asked if Infosys was also reducing its presence in Russia, Sunak said: “I have absolutely no idea because I have nothing to do with that company.”

“I am an elected politician and I’m here to talk to you about what I am responsible for, my wife is not,” he said.

Infosys also issued a statement saying that it had committed $1 million towards relief efforts for victims of the war.

“Infosys has a small team of employees based out of Russia, that services some of our global clients, locally. We do not have any active business relationships with local Russian enterprises,” it said.