Chancellor Rishi Sunak has come under pressure over his wife, Akshata Murty, holding a 0.91% stake in Infosys, a company founded by her father, which continues to operate in Russia. A statement from the company, which was founded by Murty’s billionaire father, NR Narayana Murthy, reportedly said there was a “small team” based in Russia serving global customers, but the company had ” no active business relationship with local businesses”. Russian companies.

The BBC reported on Friday that Infosys was now closing its office in Russia and trying to find replacement positions outside the country for staff employed in Moscow. The work and money of Akshata Murty’s family has already drawn criticism from Sunak, accusing him of being out of touch with the rest of the country over the rising cost of living.

For example, when the Chancellor and his wife donated more than £100,000 to Winchester College – one of the most expensive private schools in the country and where Sunak was previously headteacher – the Secretary at Labour’s shadow education Bridget Phillipson said ‘Rishi Sunak has already said he’s ‘at the maximum’ of support he can give to our public schools, but continues to hand out billions in taxpayer grants to elite private schools.

In light of these criticisms, who is Akshata Murty and what does she actually do? Here’s what you need to know.

Born in 1980, Akshata Murty is 42 years old. She married Rishi Sunak in 2009 and they have two children together.

Rishi Sunak has been dubbed the wealthiest MP in the House of Commons, not only because of his past as a banker and then a hedge fund manager, but also because of the wealth he inherited from his wife.

Murty’s father, NR Narayana Murthy, is known as the “Bill Gates of India”, having built software company Infosys into a billion dollar empire, together with his wife Sudha. Akshata Murty’s 0.91% stake in the company leaves her wealthier than the Queen, with an estimated net worth of £500million.

It’s hard to know for sure what her exact net worth is because Sunak hasn’t published most of his wife’s assets in his Register of Financial Interests – a parliamentary information resource meant to ensure open democracy.

When Sunak was appointed chief treasury secretary in 2019, he registered a blind trust to hide where the investment money came from. Since then, the Chancellor has often come under pressure from MPs to reveal the contents of this blind trust, fearing that some of the money is being held overseas.

Murty studied economics and French at Claremont McKenna College in California, USA, before moving into fashion design and merchandising in Los Angeles. She then completed her MBA at Stanford University, where she met Rishi Sunak.

The majority of her wealth comes from her controversial stake in Infosys, but she is also listed as a shareholder in at least six other companies, including Jamie Oliver’s Pizzeria, Wendy’s restaurants in India and men’s fashion store New & Lingwood.

Additional reporting by AP reporters.