Four members of Hinduja family convicted for exploiting servants
A Swiss court has jailed four members of the affluent Hinduja family to four to 4.5 years in prison for exploiting their housekeeping staff at their Lake Geneva villa. However, the judge rejected the human trafficking charges, according to the Associated Press.
Prakash Hinduja and his wife Kamal were given 4.5-year sentences apiece. Their son, Ajay, and his wife, Namrata, were both sentenced to four years. The four defendants plan to appeal the order to a higher court.
The four were not in court in Geneva, but a fifth defendant, Najib Ziazi, the family’s business manager, was present. He received an 18-month suspended sentence.
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The Swiss court found the Hinduja family members guilty of exploiting the workers and providing them with inadequate health insurance. The court also stated that the salaries paid to the employees were less than one-tenth of the remuneration for similar jobs in Switzerland.
Court dismisses trafficing charges
However, the court dropped the trafficking accusations, claiming that the employees were aware of what they were entering into.
The prosecution said that the Hinduja family, Britain’s wealthiest, also seized the passports of the workers, who were primarily uneducated Indians. It was also stated that they spend more on their dog than on an employee’s salary.
The prosecution said that the Hinduja family, Britain’s wealthiest, also seized the passports of the workers, who were primarily uneducated Indians. It was also stated that they spend more on their dog than on an employee’s salary.
Furthermore, staff were paid in rupees, not Swiss francs.
The four members allegedly prevented the workers from leaving the villa and forced them to work long hours. In fact, on numerous occasions, employees were required to work up to 18 hours each day with little or no vacation.
The family, which has Indian ancestry, settled in Switzerland in the late 1980s.
