New Delhi: A big decision has come from the Swiss court against Britain’s richest Hinduja family. The court sentenced Indian-origin businessman Prakash Hinduja and three other members of his family to four and a half years in prison for ill-treating the house servants. According to AP’s report, the court considered the charges very serious. However, the matter of human trafficking was rejected.
Apart from Prakash Hinduja, his wife Kamal, son Ajay and daughter-in-law Namrata were accused of trafficking their servants, most of whom were illiterate Indians, who were working at their lakeside villa in the Swiss city of Geneva. The fifth accused and manager of the Hinduja family has been sentenced to 18 months.
The Hinduja family was accused of spending more on their dog than on their servants. It is alleged that they employed an Indian woman in their villa in Lake Geneva and paid her a very low salary. Not only this, her passport was also confiscated and she was made to work 18 hours a day. The woman was paid only 7 Swiss francs (about 6.19 pounds). The prosecution said that this family spends more money than this on their dogs. This family spends 8,584 francs (7,616 pounds) annually on their pet dog.
According to the report, the court found Hinduja guilty of exploiting his employees and providing ‘unauthorized’ employment. Apart from this, the family was accused of confiscating the passports of their employees, paying them in rupees instead of Swiss francs, preventing them from leaving the villa and forcing them to work long hours in Switzerland. Last week, it was reported that Hinduja had reached an undisclosed settlement with the plaintiffs. Let us tell you that in Switzerland, exploitation of servants, human trafficking and violation of Swiss labor laws are considered major crimes.
Tags: Business news, Indian real estate sector
FIRST PUBLISHED : June 21, 2024, 22:52 IST