FTA in jeopardy? Sunak faces conflict of interest questions over Akshata-Infosys connection

Britsh Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has found himself mired in a controversy as the UK and India seek to flesh out a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Sunak is expected to face some transparency-related questions as his wife Akshata Murty's Infosys shareholding, worth almost $630 million, becomes the centre of debate in the proposed FTA.

Opposition party and trade experts are questioning the full financial impact that Infosys will have after the deal and if it will reap major benefitsdue to Sunak's relationship with Murty.The vast majority of Murty and Sunak’s enormous wealth comes from Infosys, her family’s tech company, which was valued at about $63 billion in May.

Darren Jones, the Labour chair of the business and trade select committee urged Sunak to come clean on the issue.

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"As the prime minister recently learned, it’s important he declares any interests properly. I expect him to do so in respect of the India trade deal too.”

Meanwhile, other leaders urged Sunak to recuse himself from a part of the negotiation, particularly involving software companies, since the likes of Infosys have been batting for the UK to relax visa norms.

According to reports, allowing more visas for workers in the IT and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors appears to be one of the key demands put forth by New Delhi in the ongoing FTA talks,which is currently in its 12th round of negotiations.

Sunak hid his connections

The call for transparency comes at a time when Sunak is preparing for his first visit to India as the British PM next month to attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi. He is expected to discuss the UK-India trade negotiations in a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Watch |India-UK trade deal nears conclusion

The demands may have risen after the UK parliamentary watchdog released a report last week wherein it was stated that Sunak 'inadvertently' failed to correctly declare his wife's shares in childcare company Koru Kids that stood to benefit from the government's budget policy.

“Having considered the information available to me, I have decided that the breach of the code appears to have been inadvertent. I confirm that the matter is now closed," said Daniel Greenberg, parliament’s commissioner for standards.

Bilateral commerce between the nations climbed to $20.36 billion in 2022–23, up from $17.5 billion in 2021–22. India's principal exports to the United Kingdom include ready-made clothes and textiles, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, petroleum and petrochemical products, transportation equipment, spices, machinery and instruments, medicines, and marine items.

(With inputs from agencies)

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