Infosys quits Russia amidst row surrounding Rishi Sunak and wife Akshata Murthy
Sunak has come under over alleged links with Russia through his wife's shareholding in Infosys
In the aftermath of the Ukraine crisis and accusations levelled against Rishi Sunak over alleged Russian connection, Indian IT services giant Infosys has decided to exit the Russian market.
"Given what is going on in the region, we have started to transition all of our work from our centres in Russia to our centres outside Russia," CEO and managing director Salil Parekh told a media briefing on Wednesday.
Parekh said the firm is "very concerned" about the situation in Ukraine and has pledged $1 million in humanitarian assistance.
He told investors that the company has around 100 employees in Russia, all working for global customers. He added that Infosys has no contracts with Russian firms.
The decision comes after Infosys' Russian ties became a heated topic in the United Kingdom, where Akshata Murthy, the daughter of Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy, lives.
Akshata Murthy is married to Rishi Sunak, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, and reportedly owns nearly one per cent of the Indian firm - a stake worth around $1 billion.
Last month, Infosys' failure to leave Russia, and Akshata Murthy's investment in the firm, drew the attention of the media, who questioned if it was appropriate for the chancellor to profit from the company's operations in Russia.
Sunak took office as finance minister in February 2020, just as the UK was hit by the Covid-19 epidemic, and had to deal with some of the nation's most difficult economic circumstances in decades. He has raised the tax take to the greatest level since the 1940s to help fund the rebuilding of the public finances and national health care.
Sunak was criticised by Labour and the Liberal Democrats for his wife's stake in Infosys, with shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh describing the matter "quite shocking".
Labour leader Keir Starmer demanded that the Chancellor explain if his family had benefitted from money made in Russia while the government imposed sanctions on firms and people.
The controversy deepened as it emerged that Akshata Murthy's tax affairs had been set up in such a way that, while living in the UK, she was officially domiciled in India and hence did not pay UK taxes on money made in other countries.
Last week, a spokesperson for Murthy said that as an Indian citizen, she was treated as non-domiciled for UK tax purposes under British law as India does not allow its citizens to have dual citizenship. The spokesperson also said that Murthy had re-arranged her finances to pay more tax in the UK.
On Wednesday, Infosys also reported its quarterly revenues, which showed robust growth due to continued demand for digital services since the pandemic, although the company fell short of analyst expectations.
The firm's quarterly revenue was $4.28 billion, up 18.5 per cent compared to the same period a year ago.
Full year revenue of $16.3 billion was up 20 per cent year-on-year. In the March quarter, net profit increased 12 per cent year-on-year to $746 million.
A strong demand environment and 'robust deal pipeline' are expected to drive revenue growth of 13-15 per cent in 2023, according to the company.