Hindujas, UK’s richest family, get jail for exploiting Indian staff at Swiss villa
- The billionaires brought servants from India into Switzerland and paid them less than they spent on their dog, the court heard
A Swiss court handed jail sentences to four members of Britain’s richest family on Friday, branding them “selfish” for exploiting Indian staff at their Geneva mansion.
The Hindujas were acquitted of human trafficking, but convicted on other charges in a stunning verdict for the family, whose fortune is estimated at £37 billion (US$47 billion) by The Sunday Times.
Prakash Hinduja and his wife Kamal Hinduja each got four years and six months, while their son Ajay and his wife Namrata received four-year terms, the presiding judge in Geneva ruled.
They were found guilty of a charge of “usury” for taking advantage of their vulnerable immigrant staff to pay them a pittance.
“The employees’ inexperience was exploited. They had little education or none at all and had no knowledge of their rights,” presiding Sabina Mascotto said in her judgment.
“The defendants’ motives were selfish,” she said, adding that the Hindujas were motivated “by the desire for gain”.
