Four members of Britain’s richest family have been sentenced to prison after being found guilty of exploiting their vulnerable domestic workers and providing unauthorized employment.
IndianTycoon Prakash Hinduja and his wife Kamal, along with their son Ajay and his wife Namrata, were, however, cleared by a Swiss criminal court of more serious charges of human trafficking linked to their employees.
The court ruled that the employees, who were mostly illiterate Indians and worked at their lakeside villa in Geneva, knew what they were getting into.
The four family members were sentenced to between four and four and a half years in prison.
Lawyers representing the defendants said they would appeal.
In their defense, the Hinduja family’s legal team said employees were treated with respect and provided with accommodation.
The four were accused of seizing workers’ passports, paying them in rupees – not Swiss francs – preventing them from leaving the villa and forcing them to work long hours for a pittance in Switzerland, among other things.
Phrases
Prakash and Kamal received prison sentences of four and a half years each, while Ajay and his wife Namrata were sentenced to four years each.
The defendants did not appear in court in Geneva, although a fifth defendant – Najib Ziazi, the family’s business manager – was present on Friday. He received an 18-month suspended sentence.
Prakash and Kamal, aged 78 and 75 respectively, did not attend the trial due to health reasons.
It emerged last week in criminal court that the family – which has roots in India – had reached an undisclosed settlement with the plaintiffs. Geneva prosecutors opened the case for alleged illegal activity, including exploitation, human trafficking and violations of Swiss labor laws.
What did the prosecution allege?
The prosecution said the workers – who worked in jobs such as cooks or domestic helpers – were sometimes forced to work up to 18 hours a day, with little or no time off during holidays.
And his salary was less than a tenth of the comparable amount required by Swiss law, it was alleged.
Employees worked late at receptions and slept in the basement of the villa in the upscale area of Cologny – sometimes on a mattress on the floor, said prosecutors, who described a “climate of fear” brought on by Kamal Hinduja.
Some workers allegedly spoke only Hindi and received their salaries in Indian rupees at banks in their home country that they did not have access to.
Swiss authorities have already seized family jewelry, including diamonds, rubies, a platinum necklace, as well as other assets, in the expectation that they could be used to pay legal fees and possible penalties.
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Brothers Prakash, Gopichand and Srichand Hinduja in 1996. Photo: Rex/Shutterstock
The Hinduja family controls the multinational conglomerate Hinduja Group, with businesses ranging from trucks and lubricants to banking and cable television.
Prakash Hinduja’s brother Gopichand took over as president after elder brother Srichand died in May 2023.
Prakash is chairman of the Hinduja Group in Europe, while a fourth brother, Ashok, is chairman of the Hinduja Group of Companies (India).
The family, led by Gopichand, topped the 2024 Sunday Times Rich List with a combined wealth of £37.196 billion.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
