Britain’s richest family, the Hindujas, said they were “shocked” by a Swiss court’s ruling on prison sentences for some members and have lodged an appeal with a higher court challenging the verdict finding them guilty of exploiting vulnerable domestic workers of India in your villa. in Geneva.
In a statement released on behalf of the family on Friday, Swiss lawyers stressed that their clients – Prakash and Kamal Hinduja, both aged 70, and their son Ajay and his wife Namrata – were acquitted of all charges of human trafficking. humans.
They also rejected media reports that any family members had been detained after court reports from Geneva said the four were sentenced to between four and four and a half years in prison.
“Our clients were acquitted of all human trafficking charges. We are dismayed and disappointed with the rest of the decision made in this lower court and, of course, we filed an appeal to the higher court, thus rendering this part of the sentence ineffective”, says the statement signed by lawyers Yael Hayat and Robert Assael and Roman Jordan.
“According to Swiss law, the presumption of innocence is fundamental until a final sentence from the highest judging authority is carried out. Contrary to some media reports, there is no effective detention for any family member,” they said.
The lawyers also highlighted that “it should also be remembered that the plaintiffs in this case withdrew their respective claims after declaring to the court that they never intended to be involved in such proceedings”.
“The family has full faith in the judicial process and remains confident that the truth will prevail”, they conclude.
The statement followed a hearing in the Swiss city of Geneva, after prosecutors opened the case for alleged illegal activity, including exploitation, human trafficking and violations of Swiss labor laws.
Family members were accused of seizing the workers’ passports, preventing them from leaving the villa and forcing them to work long hours for a pittance in Switzerland, among other things.
Some workers allegedly spoke only Hindi and received their salaries in rupees from banks in India, which they did not have access to.
During the trial, prosecutors alleged that the family spent more on the dog than on the employees.
The family’s legal team countered the allegations and told the court that staff were treated with respect and provided with accommodation.
According to the “Sunday Times Rich List” released last month, the UK-based Hinduja family has once again emerged as the richest in the country, with an estimated wealth of around £37.196 billion. sterling.
They saw this number increase compared to the previous year, following the opening of the brand new luxury OWO Raffles Hotel in the heart of London.
The UK-based family group of companies, led by chairman GP Hinduja, operates in 48 countries and across multiple sectors – automotive, petroleum and specialty chemicals, banking and finance, IT, cyber security, healthcare, commerce, project development infrastructure, media and entertainment, power and real estate.
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