Hinduja Family Members: A Swiss court has sentenced four members of Britain’s richest family, the Hindujas, for exploiting Indian staff at their Geneva mansion.

The £37 billion-net-worth Hinduja family was found guilty of various crimes, with the exception of human trafficking.

The family’s custom of hiring Indian slaves for their Lake Geneva mansion served as the impetus for the lawsuit. Among the accusations was that the employees’ passports were seized when they arrived in Switzerland.

Employees reported they received $8 for an eighteen-hour shift—much less than the minimum pay in Switzerland. Family representatives maintained that the workers were treated with “respect, dignity, and like family” in spite of these allegations.

The prosecution said that the Hinduja family spent more money on their dog than on the workers and that there were insufficient details in the employment contracts about working hours and days off. Nevertheless, the Hinduja family asserts their innocence and refutes these allegations.

Court Verdict and Reactions

Swiss prosecutor Yves Bertossa accused the Hindujas of exploiting the “asymmetrical situation” between powerful employers and vulnerable employees.

He asked for Prakash and Kamal Hinduja to serve five and a half-year prison terms. The prosecution emphasized that the personnel were paid substantially less than the Swiss standard, between 220 and 400 Swiss francs (£195–£350) each month.

Bertossa claimed the family was making money off of their workers’ suffering. Prakash Hinduja and his wife, Kamal, received four years and six months in prison each, while their son Ajay and his wife, Namrata, were sentenced to four years each.

Family’s Defense and Appeal

The defense team for the Hinduja family contended that the workers were given generous perks, weren’t housed in isolation, and had the freedom to leave the villa.

Lawyers for the family plan to appeal the decision, stating that the court’s judgment is ineffective until a final judgment by the highest adjudicating authority is enforced. The Hindujas’ lawyer, Robert Assael, expressed dismay at the decision and vowed to appeal it.

One of the four sons of Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja, who established the Hinduja Group in 1914, is Prakash Hinduja, the chairman of the Hinduja Group in Europe.

The conglomerate has holdings in energy, finance, and transportation and operates in 38 countries. Among the family’s real estate assets is the September-opening Raffles London Hotel.

The Hindujas will be among the rising number of billionaires serving prison sentences if the convictions remain in place. The case highlights the difficulties experienced by wealthy houses’ domestic servants.