On Monday, a trial began in Switzerland against four members of the wealthy Hinduja family from the United Kingdom. The trial is taking place after the Hinduja family settled a civil case related to labor exploitation. The prosecutors have requested prison sentences of up to five and a half years for the family members, Prakash and Kamal Hinduja, along with his son Ajay and his wife Namrata. They are accused of bringing men and women from India to work as domestic servants in one of their Geneva mansions, paying them only US$8 a day for long hours.
The trial began after the Hinduja family settled a civil case related to labor exploitation. Prosecutors allege that the workers’ passports were confiscated and that they were not allowed to leave the house without permission. The workers were paid in Indian rupees instead of Swiss francs and their contracts did not specify working hours or days off. The prosecutors cited testimonies from Indian employees and evidence gathered during their investigation.
The Hinduja family’s lawyers denied the allegations of low wages and argued that the employees were treated with respect and dignity. They claimed that the employees worked repeatedly for the family, indicating satisfaction with their working conditions. The defense also presented former employees who testified on behalf of the Hinduja family, describing them as a friendly family that treated their servants well.
The Hinduja family is originally from India but controls a global business group called Hindujas Group which operates in various industries such as banking, finance, mobility, energy, technology, media, renewable energy sectors among others globally with an estimated valuation of 47 billion dollars. In addition to this global presence, they own valuable real estate properties in London including Raffles hotel and part of Carlton House Terrace among others.
Despite some internal conflicts within the brothers over ownership issues like bank in Geneva in 2020 court documents revealed tensions between brothers over ownership issues like bank in Geneva; Despite these internal conflicts
