New Delhi, August 27, 2023 (PPI-OT): The dust of announcement by Kremlin has not yet settled that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the G20 summit in India next month, the controversy has also surrounded British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presidency of G20 summit.

Rishi Sunak is facing new conflict of interest row before the summit in New Delhi next month over claims that his family could stand to benefit financially from a post-Brexit trade deal that he is negotiating with India.

MPs and trade experts say there are concerns at the highest levels of government over potential “transparency” issues relating to his wife Akshata Murty’s shareholding – worth almost £500m – in the massive Bengaluru-based international IT services and consultancy company Infosys.

Labour, and the chair of the all-party House of Commons business and trade select committee, called on Saturday night for Sunak to be more open about his wife’s financial interests, given that Infosys could be a key beneficiary of any agreement. One leading expert said he should recuse himself from the trade negotiations altogether.

Darren Jones, the Labour chair of the business and trade select committee, said: “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.”

The calls come as former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, a vocal critic of the prime minister, finally handed in her resignation as an MP. Sunak will attend the G20 summit in New Delhi in two weeks and is expected to discuss the UK-India trade negotiations in a separate bilateral meeting with India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

Trade secretary Kemi Badenoch flew back from India this weekend after holding intensive talks on the prospective deal. Infosys, which has had contracts with the British government as well as many UK companies, is known to want to improve access to this country for its many thousands of contract workers through changes to the UK visa regime.

Allowing more visas for its workers in sectors such as IT and artificial intelligence is a key Indian demand in the talks over a free-trade agreement. The UK, for its part, is seeking reductions in the high tariffs on exports to India of goods including Scotch whisky and cars.

The Observer can reveal that, such are the sensitivities over the negotiations and Sunak’s involvement, that the Foreign Office (FCDO) has warned Jones’s committee in the strongest terms against conducting a trip to India this autumn 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,” said Jones.

In addition, the FCDO has indicated to the committee that it will not be able to assist in setting up meetings for the MPs with Indian officials and business people. Amid signs of tension between the MPs and the FCDO, the committee will meet soon after parliament returns next week to discuss whether to go ahead anyway.

The vast majority of Murty and the Sunak’s enormous wealth comes from Infosys, her family’s tech company, which was valued at about $63bn (£50bn) in May. The company was co-founded by Murty’s father, Narayana Murthy, in 1981. Last year compilers of the Sunday Times rich list estimated that the holding should have produced about £54m in dividends to boost the Sunak family income over the previous seven years.

The latest controversy comes after the prime minister was reprimanded last week by parliament’s standard’s watchdog for failing to properly declare his wife’s separate shareholding in a childcare company that stood to benefit from new government policy. The watchdog said Sunak had breached parliament’s code of conduct but did so inadvertently. He now includes mention of the childcare company in the register of ministerial interests.

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