A Swiss court has convicted four members of the wealthiest family in the UK for their exploitation of Indian workers who were hired to work at their Geneva estate
The court convicted Prakash and Kamal Hinduja, along with their son Ajay and his wife Namrata, guilty of exploitation and illegal employment.
They were sentenced to four to four-and-a-half years in prison but were acquitted on the more serious charge of human trafficking.
Lawyers representing the defendants said they intend to appeal the ruling.
Speaking outside the court, Robert Assael, the lawyer for the defendants, said: “I’m shocked. We’re going to fight it to the bitter end.”
Three workers who were brought over from their native India alleged the family 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 – whose fortune is estimated at around £37bn – rarely allowed them to leave the house, which is in Geneva’s wealthy neighbourhood of Cologny.
The elder Hindujas, both over 70, did not attend court proceedings, pleading ill health. Ajay and Namrata did attend court but were not there to hear the verdict.
It is not the first time that Geneva, a hub for international organisations as well as the world’s wealthy, has been in the spotlight over the alleged mistreatment of servants.
Last year, four domestic workers from the Philippines launched a case against one of Geneva’s diplomatic missions to the United Nations, claiming they had not been paid for years.
The Hinduja family own Hinduja Group, a multinational group with interests in oil, gas, and banking.
The family also own the Raffles hotel in London.
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