British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (right) might face transparency issues related to wife Akshata Murty’s Infosys shares, worth an estimated 500 million pounds, in a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with India, according to a media report.
The Observer claimed the Opposition Labour Party and trade experts are questioning the full financial impact as Infosys, the Bengaluru-headquartered software service major co-founded by Akshata’s father Narayana Murthy, stands to benefit from any such trade deal.
India and the UK have been negotiating a free-trade agreement (FTA) as Mr Sunak prepares for his first visit to India as British Prime Minister for the G20 Leaders’ Summit on Sept 9 and 10.
“As the Prime Minister recently learnt, it’s important he declares any interests properly. I expect him to do so in respect of the India trade deal too,” said Labour MP Darren Jones, chair of the cross-party House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee, which has been scrutinising the FTA talks.
Earlier last week, the UK parliamentary watchdog released its report into an inquiry concluding that Mr Sunak had inadvertently failed to correctly declare his wife’s shares in childcare firm Koru Kids that stood to benefit from the government’s budget policy.
The 43-year-old Indian British leader apologised for the “inadvertent” breach that arose “out of confusion”, and the matter was closed.
According to the Observer report, Infosys is known to want to improve access to the UK for its thousands of contract workers through changes to the visa regime.
The newspaper claims that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has even warned the Business and Trade Select Committee against conducting a trip to India in the coming months to examine issues around a potential deal.
“The committee was advised by the government that it would be better to visit India next year instead of during sensitive trade negotiations,” committee chair Jones told the newspaper.
Shadow trade secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said that while his party backed a trade deal with India, it is important that Mr Sunak is “transparent about any relevant business links and his personal role in negotiations”.
Indo-Asian News Service
