UK’s richest Hinduja family get jail sentence for exploiting servants

GENEVA: Four members of the UK’s richest family including Prakash Hinduja, his wife Kamal Hinduja, as well as their son Ajay and his wife Namrata have received prison sentences for exploiting Indian immigrant staff to work at their Geneva villa.

According to the international media, the Indian-born Hinduja family was found guilty of exploitation and illegal employment by a Swiss court. Prakash and his wife, Kamal, were each sentenced to four years and six months in prison, and their son Ajay and his wife, Namrata, received four-year terms.

The Hindujas, who were not present in court, were acquitted of human trafficking but convicted of other charges on Friday.

The four were accused of seizing workers’ passports, paying them in rupees – not Swiss francs – barring them from leaving the villa and forcing them to work very long hours for a pittance in Switzerland, among other things.

Three workers who were brought over from their native India alleged the family – whose fortune is estimated at around £37bn – paid them as little as £7 ($8) to work 18-hour days, less than a tenth of the amount required under Swiss law and confiscated their passports.

They also claimed the family rarely allowed them to leave the house in Geneva’s wealthy neighborhood of Cologny. During the trial, prosecutors alleged the family spent more on their dog than on their servants.

In their defence, the Hinduja family’s lawyer, Robert Assael, stated the staff were treated respectfully and provided with accommodation. He argued that the employees received ample benefits, were not kept in isolation, and were free to leave the villa.

The employees “were grateful to the Hindujas for offering them a better life”, Assael said.

The Hinduja family owns Hinduja Group, a multinational group with interests in oil, gas, and banking. The family also owns the Raffles Hotel in London.