United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has come under the scanner for being tight-lipped about Infosys — an Indian IT company owned by his wife Akshata Murty’s family.
As per the Evening Standard, while it is public knowledge that Infosys was co-founded by Sunak’s father-in-law, the UK PM has never spoken of his interest in the company.
Sunak has previously said that it was a matter only for his wife and not of “legitimate public interest.”
As per a report by the New European, the Contracts Finder, the UK government’s own database of public sector tenders and contracts, Infosys has been involved in more than $214 million (£172 million) worth of public sector contracts with different UK government agencies and organisations.
Which departments have signed contracts with Infosys?
As per the database, Infosys has signed contracts to provide services and supplies to multiple government clients, including the Home Office, the Care Quality Commission, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, Westminster Council, Nottingham University, the London Borough of Merton, and East Sussex County Council.
However, there are no contracts between Infosys, the Treasury, or the Cabinet Office on Contracts Finder, a public record of government contracts.
Infosys contracts with UK government agencies, organisation
The most recent contract was awarded in December 2022, with Transport for London. Under it, Infosys has been contracted to supply £1,760,500 ($2,190,581) worth of “consulting, software development, internet and support.”
Incidentally, the first governmental award Infosys received — back in March 2015 — was also with Transport for London. Then, Infosys and 15 partner companies managed to secure contracts worth £98 million (around $121 million).
Infosys has also signed two contracts with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency worth £5.35 million ($6.65 million), and six contracts with the Care Quality Commission totalling £20.3 million ($25.24 million).
The company has also been a party to a £10 million contract with Westminster Council to provide a digital roadmap and has supplied computer goods and software to Nottingham University valued at £650,600 ($809,131). Its contracts with the London Borough of Merton and East Sussex County Council amount to £500,000 ($621,835) and £25 million ($31 million), respectively.
Additionally, Infosys has signed two contracts with the Home Office worth £10.8 million ($13.4 million), including a 2017-2020 contract worth £7.4 million ($9.2 million) for “quality assurance and infrastructure testing.”
Despite this, there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing in relation to the awarding of the contracts.
How is Sunak linked to Infosys?
As mentioned before, his father-in-law was a co-founder of Infosys.
Apart from this, his wife, Akshata Murty, reportedly has a 0.93 per cent interest in the business. This amounts to 38.9 million shares, worth an estimated £89 million ($110 million) or so. Dividends from these shares as per the New European amount to around £12 million (almost $15 million) annually.
Until recently, Murty was not liable for UK tax on account of her “non-dom” status. Sunak has previously faced criticism when it emerged that Murty did not declare earnings from her Infosys dividends for UK tax purposes. However, after a furore, she said that she would include them.
AFP reports that the Indian-origin PM is also under investigation by the U UK parliamentary watchdog, over a possible failure to declare shares held by his wife in a childcare agency “Koru Kids” that stands to benefit from a recent budget.
(With inputs from agencies)
