Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine almost a month ago, describing the conflict as a "special military operation." Since then, a number of nations have taken tough measures, and many businesses have opted to curtail their activities in Russia.

India's leading IT services business Infosys, in which UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak's wife holds a minority investment, is now embroiled in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. According to BBC sources, it is suspending operations in Russia and looking for replacement employment overseas for Moscow-based employees.

Infosys was "trying to find replacement roles abroad for staff employed in Moscow," according to sources reported by Britain's public service broadcaster BBC late Friday night.

The purported halt in activities comes less than a week after British media accused Sunak of benefitting from the Putin administration because Infosys has links to Russian businesses. Sunak is married to Akshata Murthy, the daughter of NR Narayan Murthy.

The news comes as Sunak faces tough questions about his wife Akshata Murty's stake in the company, which was co-founded by her father, NR Narayana Murthy. Sunak's spokeswoman previously said that his wife has no part in Infosys' operational choices. According to the most recent annual report from Infosys, Akshata Murthy owns 0.9 per cent of the company's stock, valued at hundreds of millions of pounds.

In India's two major stock markets, there was no exchange filing on this occurrence.

INFOSYS' REACTION

Infosys' spokeswoman declined to comment on the decision to shut the Moscow office or on the company's future cooperation with Russian firms.

Last week, Infosys stated that it had no "active business relationships with local Russian enterprises." This was to clarify its operations in Moscow, which had been subjected to severe economic sanctions as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.

According to Infosys, it has less than 100 people in Russia who serve several worldwide clients that have offices there.