A Swiss court has sentenced four members of Britain’s wealthiest family for exploiting Indian employees at their Geneva residence.
Although the Hindujas were acquitted of human trafficking, they were convicted of other charges on Friday, delivering a surprising verdict for the family, whose estimated fortune is £37 billion.
Prakash Hinduja and his wife, Kamal, received prison sentences of four years and six months each, while their son Ajay and his wife, Namrata, were sentenced to four years each.
The case revolved around the family’s practice of employing servants from India, which included allegations of confiscating their passports upon their arrival in Switzerland.
Prosecutors argued that the Hindujas paid their staff very low wages and severely restricted their freedom to leave the property. The family denied these allegations, asserting that the prosecutors were intent on targeting them unfairly.
Despite reaching a confidential out-of-court settlement with the three employees who brought the accusations, the prosecution chose to continue with the case due to the seriousness of the charges.
Geneva prosecutor Yves Bertossa had requested custodial sentences of five and a half years for Prakash and Kamal Hinduja.
Both, aged 78 and 75 respectively, had been absent from the trial since its start due to health issues.
In his closing remarks, the prosecutor accused the Hindujas of exploiting the “asymmetrical situation” between a powerful employer and vulnerable employees to save money.
He highlighted that household staff were paid between 220 and 400 Swiss francs (£195-£350) per month, a significantly lower amount than what they could have earned in Switzerland. “They’re profiting from the misery of the world,” Bertossa stated in court.
The Hindujas’ defense attorneys contended that the three plaintiffs received substantial benefits, were not isolated, and were free to leave the villa. “We are not dealing with mistreated slaves,” argued Nicolas Jeandin, one of the family’s lawyers.
Another defense lawyer, Robert Assael, claimed that the employees were “grateful to the Hindujas for offering them a better life.”
Yael Hayat, representing Ajay Hinduja, criticized the indictment as “excessive,” suggesting that the trial should focus on “justice, not social justice.”
Namrata Hinduja’s lawyer, Romain Jordan, also called for acquittal, arguing that the prosecution aimed to make an example of the family and had failed to account for additional payments made to staff beyond their cash salaries.
Assael further asserted: “No employee was cheated out of his or her salary.” The Hinduja Group, involved in sectors like oil and gas, banking, and healthcare, operates in 38 countries and employs approximately 200,000 people.
