UK chancellor on Friday, came under pressure when asked about the involvement of consultation firm Infosys in Russia.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer who is ethnically South Asian is the son in law of Infosys co-founder, Mr. Narayana Murthy. His wife is also a massive shareholder of the company. He was probed live on TV with reference to the harsh penalties being imposed on the world’s largest nation. Mr Sunak stated that businesses should suspend their operations in Russia even though his family’s company – Infosys is still entangled with the aggressors of the war. The minister guaranteed that he as an individual has no control over what private companies do, especially ones not based in the UK.
Infosys has also played down their involvements in Russia after the online interview.
Infosys, has a market valuation of over $100 billion. The company was co-founded by Rishi Sunak’s father-in-law Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy. His daughter Akshata Murthy, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s wife owns shares valued at around $1 billion USD.
With enterprises around the world, withdraw their operations and association with the Kremlin’s economy, Mr. Rishi Sunak was questioned about his wife’s and her father’s involvement with Russia.
He was asked if Infosys are planning to cut their tires with Russia. He responded straightforwardly by saying that he does not work for the company and has nothing to do with their operations or decision-making process. He continued by saying that he is a British politician and a member of the parliament and that he is attending the interview to talk about issues he is responsible for, not something he has no control over.
Infosys then made a public statement saying that they have donated $1 million USD to assist in relief for the besieged Eastern European country.
Infosys then said that they do have an office based out in Russia and it is used to assist in the services of their international clients. They assured that they have no current business relationships with any Russian firms.
Ever since the advent of the Cold War, India and Russia have always kept close with the Indian army highly reliant on their Soviet counterparts for machinery and equipment. India also has a track record of failing to condemn Russian actions, and the government recently bought 3 million barrels of Russian crude oil when the rest of the world has set an embargo on the world’s largest nation.
Putin has even paid multiple visits to India and continues to view the South Asian nation as their ally. Eighteen years back, he even visited the Infosys head office situated in Bangalore and even met Mr. Murthy.
