The wife of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Akshata Murty, is poised to receive another substantial payout from Infosys, a multinational IT firm co-founded by her father. Murty, who holds a significant stake in Infosys, is due to receive approximately £10.5 million in dividends, according to the company’s recent financial announcement.
Murty’s ownership comprises a 0.94 per cent stake in Infosys, valued at around £650 million. The company, established in 1981 by a consortium that included Indian billionaire NR Narayana Murthy, regularly awards dividends to its shareholders. This latest dividend announcement includes a special dividend of eight rupees per share, in addition to the regular dividend of 20 rupees per share.
The receipt of this dividend has drawn attention to Murty’s financial affairs, particularly her previous claim of non-dom status, which allows wealthy individuals to minimize their tax obligations by paying taxes only on UK earnings. However, Murty has since committed to paying UK taxes on all worldwide income, including dividends and capital gains.
Despite her financial dealings coming under scrutiny, Murty has utilized some of her wealth to invest in British start-ups. Notably, some of these investments have received government support, prompting questions about potential conflicts of interest. However, there is no implication of Sunak’s involvement in selecting beneficiaries of government schemes.
Last year, Murty decided to wind down Catamaran Ventures UK, a start-up investment firm she co-founded with Sunak in 2013. Some of the companies backed by Catamaran, such as Study Hall and Mrs Wordsmith, have received government grants and subsequently faced financial difficulties.
Additionally, a direct investment by Murty in Koru Kids, a childcare company, attracted controversy after representatives of the company met with the children’s minister ahead of a budget announcement that could benefit them. Sunak later apologised for what was deemed an inadvertent breach of parliamentary standards regarding the declaration of family financial interests.
The news of Murty’s impending dividend payout from Infosys comes amidst the company’s announcement of modest sales growth forecasts due to reduced spending by overseas clients on software and IT projects. Despite this, Infosys reported a marginal revenue increase of 1.9 per cent for the year, reaching $18.6 billion.
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