Four members of the United Kingdom-based billionaire Hinduja family were sentenced to prison terms ranging from four to four-and-a-half years by a Swiss court for exploiting domestic workers at their residence.
The court found Prakash Hinduja, his wife Kamal, their son Ajay, and daughter-in-law Namrata guilty of unauthorised employment practices, offering minimal health benefits and paying wages drastically below Swiss standards.
The verdict, delivered by the court in Geneva, also included an 18-month sentence for Najib Ziazi, the family’s business manager.
The workers, employed at the family’s lakeside villa in Geneva were hired from India and were paid in rupees deposited into bank accounts in India, rendering them unable to access their earnings while in Switzerland.
They were reportedly subjected to work 18 hours a day and were housed in substandard conditions such as sleeping in the basement on occasion.
According to the prosecutor, Yves Bartossa, the family allegedly has spent more on their dog, than they did on the workers.
The court’s investigation began in 2018 following a tip-off, leading to raids on the Hinduja villa and Hinduja Bank offices, where incriminating documents and hard drives were seized.
The prosecution alleged that the Hinduja family instilled fear in the workers by seizing their passports and preventing them from leaving the property without authorization.
Despite these claims, the court acquitted the defendants of human trafficking charges, noting that the staff were aware of the nature of their employment. However, the exploitation and illegal employment charges stand, further tarnishing the reputation of the Hinduja family.
The Hindujas, on Friday, said that they were “appalled” by the ruling and have filed an appeal in a higher court challenging the verdict.
In a statement issued on behalf of the family, lawyers, Yael Hayat, Robert Assael and Roman Jordan said “Our clients have been acquitted of all human trafficking charges. We are appalled and disappointed by the rest of the decision made in this court of first instance, and we have of course filed an appeal to the higher court thereby making this part of the judgement not effective.”
“The family has full faith in the judicial process and remains confident that the truth will prevail,” they added.
This is not the first time the Hinduja family has been embroiled in controversy. Their history of legal and ethical troubles stretches back decades, including the Bofors scandal and a UK Citizenship row.
The group’s origins date back to 1914 when Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja established a commodities trading business in British India’s Sindh region. The business expanded under his sons, initially through the distribution of Bollywood films internationally.
By 1979, the family moved their headquarters from Iran to London, solidifying their status as a global business empire. Hinduja Group operates across 11 sectors, including automotive, banking, oil, IT, healthcare, and real estate, employing around 200,000 people worldwide.
Some of their notable companies include Ashok Leyland, IndusInd Bank, and Gulf Oil International. Despite their numerous controversies, the Hinduja family remains a significant force in global business. After the death of Srichand Hinduja in May 2023, Gopichand Hinduja assumed the role of chairman, continuing to steer the multi-billion-dollar empire.
