A Swiss court on Friday handed down prison sentences to four members of Britain’s richest family for exploiting Indian staff at their Geneva mansion.
According to the criteria of
The Hinduja, absent from the audience, They were acquitted of the charge of human trafficking, but convicted of other charges, in a shocking verdict for the family with a fortune estimated by the Sunday Times at 37 billion pounds ($47 billion).
Prakash Hinduja, 78, and his wife Kamal, 75, They were sentenced to four years and six months in prison. His son Ajay, 56, and his wife, Namrata, 50, were sentenced to four years, announced the president of the Geneva court, Sabina Mascotto.
The family, originally from India, brought domestic staff from that country and, According to the accusation, their passports were confiscated upon arrival in Switzerland and they were paid an “80% to 90% lower” salary. to what would correspond to them in Switzerland, explains the ruling.
Geneva prosecutor Yves Bertossa accused the family of having spent “more money on the dog than on the domestic employees.” Bertossa requested the immediate arrest of Ajay and Namrata, alleging a flight risk, but the president of the court denied the request, considering that all the accused, of Swiss nationality, have deep ties with the Alpine country.
The defense indicated that it would appeal the sentence and attributed the accusations to the mere desire of the Prosecutor’s Office to “take down the Hindujas.” According to the defense, the three complainants did not live in isolation and none “was deceived regarding their salary”.
the family “took advantage of the inexperience of the employees, who had little or no education and were ignorant of their rights.”
The president of the court dismissed the human trafficking charge, arguing that some employees returned to Geneva after traveling to India. But the family “took advantage of the inexperience of the employees, who had little or no education and were ignorant of their rights,” she said.
The Hinduja group has assets in 38 countries in the oil and gas sectors, banking and medical services, with a total workforce of 200,000 employees.
AFP
#richest #family #United #Kingdom #sentenced #prison #labor #exploitation