Rishi Sunak has denied any connection to a multinational company partly owned by his wife, which continued to operate in Russia during the war in Ukraine.
The chancellor said he had “nothing to do” with Infosys, in which his wife Akshata Murty has a stake.
He has urged British firms to pull out of Russia to inflict “economic pain” on President Vladimir Putin.
Mr. Sunak’s spokesman said Ms. Murty played no role in Infosys’ operational decisions.
The software giant was co-founded by Ms Murty’s father Narayana, an Indian billionaire who retired from the company in 2014.
Founded in 1981, the company has since expanded into a number of countries and operates an office in Moscow.
In its latest annual report, Ms Murty owns 0.9% of the company’s shares – reportedly worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
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India has not followed Western countries, including Britain, in restricting trade with Russia through sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Mr Sunak said the government would give “full support” to British firms that voluntarily withdraw from Russia.
After meeting a group of top British companies, the Chancellor said he welcomed the “consensus on the need to inflict maximum economic pain on Putin and his regime.”
“While I recognize that it can be difficult to unwind existing investments, I believe there is no argument for new investments in the Russian economy,” he added.
“I urge asset owners and managers to think very carefully about any investments that would in any way support Putin and his regime.”
Asked about Infosys’ presence in Russia on Thursday, Mr Sunak told Sky News: “I am an elected politician and I am here to speak to you about what I am responsible for. My wife is not.”
He added that the companies’ operations are “in their hands”.
“We have imposed significant sanctions and all companies for which we are responsible are complying, as they rightly should,” said the Chancellor.
A spokesman for the Chancellor said Ms Murty was “one of thousands of minority shareholders in the company”.
“It is a public company and neither she nor any member of her family is involved in the operational decisions of the company,” they added.
Infosys said it has a “small team of staff based outside of Russia” that “serves some of our global customers locally.”
“We have no active business relationships with local Russian companies,” she added.
“Infosys Supports and Advocates Peace Between Russia and Ukraine”.
Infosys has had ties in the past to Alfa Bank, one of Russia’s largest financial institutions, which was added to the UK sanctions list on Thursday after already being sanctioned by the US and EU.
In 2004, Mr. Putin visited Infosys’ headquarters in Bangalore, where he was led by Narayana Murthy.
Mr. Sunak met his future spouse while he was studying for an MBA from Stanford University in California. They married in 2009 and have two children.
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