Who Are The Hindujas And Why Four From The Billionaire Family Have Been Handed Jail Sentences?

Four from the wealthy Hinduja family have been handed jail sentences for exploiting Indian staff at their Geneva mansion by a court in Switzerland on Friday. The court verdict branded them as “selfish” for exploiting Indian staff and paying them meagre salaries and keeping them in tough conditions.

The Hindujas also faced human trafficking charges but were convicted on other charges. The family which owns the Hinduja group, which has business interests in India and the UK as well as in other parts of the world, are Britain’s richest, with their fortune estimated at 37 billion pounds ($47 billion) by the Sunday Times.

Prakash Hinduja, 78, and his wife Kamal Hinduja, 75, each got four years and six months, while their son Ajay, 56, and his wife Namrata, 50, received four-year terms, the presiding judge in Geneva ruled.

What Were The Charges Against The Hindujas?

The Hindujas, according to the court filings, were convicted of “usury” for having taken advantage of their vulnerable immigrant staff to pay them a pittance.

The family were accused of bringing servants from their native India and confiscating their passports once they got to Switzerland.

Swiss prosecutor Yves Bertossa accused the Hindujas of spending “more on their dog than on their domestic employees”. Meanwhile, the judge, according to a report by news agency AFP, said the family paid the household staff about 325 francs ($363) a month, up to 90 percent less than the going rate.

The prosecutors said that the staff were paid not in Swiss francs but in Indian rupees, deposited in banks back home that they couldn’t access.

The lawyers also argued that the workers were mostly illiterate Indians.

A report by the Associated Press said that Swiss authorities have seized diamonds, rubies, a platinum necklace and other jewelry and assets in anticipation that they could be used to pay for legal fees and possible penalties.

“The four Hinduja defendants knew the weak position their employees were in and knew the law in Switzerland. The defendants’ motives were selfish. The employees’ inexperience was exploited. They had little education or none at all and had no knowledge of their rights,” judge Sabina Mascotto said in her judgement.

Lawyers representing the defendants said they would appeal.

“The family has full faith in the judicial process and remains confident that the truth will prevail,” the defendants said, adding that they were “appalled and disappointed” at the court’s ruling.

The legal team of the Hindujas, comprising of lawyers Romain Jordan, Nicolas Jeandin, Yael Hayat and Robert Assael, argued that the indictment was ‘excessive’.

Representing Ajay Hinduja, lawyer Yael Hayat had slammed the “excessive” indictment, arguing the trial should be a question of “justice, not social justice”.

Namrata Hinduja’s lawyer Romain Jordan had also pleaded for acquittal, claiming the prosecutors were aiming to make an example of the family.

“We are not dealing with mistreated slaves,” Nicolas Jeandin told the court.

Indeed, the employees “were grateful to the Hindujas for offering them a better life”, his fellow lawyer Robert Assael argued.

Who Are The Hindujas

The Hindujas own the mega corporate conglomerate the Hinduja Group which leads an industrial conglomerate in sectors including information technology, media, power, real estate and health care.

Some of the famous subsidiaries of the Hinduja Group are automakers Ashok Leyland and bankers IndusInd Bank among others.