New Delhi:

Four members of Britain’s richest family, the Hindujas, on Sunday said they have not been subjected to any imprisonment, conviction, sentence or detention. Prakash Hinduja, 78, and his wife Kamal Hinduja, 75, son Ajay, 56, and his wife Namrata, 50, were accused of “usury” for allegedly having taken advantage of their vulnerable immigrant staff to pay them a pittance.

In the statement, a spokesperson of the Hindujas said the family members have not been imprisoned and human trafficking charges against them has been dismissed.

“The four Swiss-national members of the Hinduja Family, Kamal and Prakash Hinduja, Namrata and Ajay Hinduja, have not been subjected to any imprisonment, conviction, sentence or detention,” the spokesperson said in the statement.

“Per Swiss law procedures, the lower court’s judgment is rendered ineffective and inoperative as the presumption of innocence is paramount until and unless a final judgment by the highest adjudicating authority is enforced.

“The most serious of the charges, human trafficking, against them were completely dismissed by the court yesterday.

“It may be noted that the case has no complainants left anymore and they had declared in the court that they were led into signing statements that they didn’t even understand. They had neither intended to nor initiated such proceedings. All of them further testified that the four Hinduja family members treated them with ‘respect, dignity and like family.’

“The four family members have full faith in the Swiss judicial process and remain confident that the truth will prevail.”

Britain’s wealthiest family, the Hindujas, have said they were “appalled” by a Swiss court’s ruling of jail terms for some members and have filed an appeal in a higher court challenging the verdict finding them guilty of exploiting vulnerable domestic workers from India at their villa in Geneva.

In a statement issued on behalf of the family on Friday, lawyers from Switzerland stressed their clients – Prakash and Kamal Hinduja, both in their 70s and their son Ajay and his wife Namrata – had been acquitted of all human trafficking charges.

They also dismissed media reports that any members of the family faced detention after court reports from Geneva said the four were sentenced to between four and four-and-a-half years in prison.

“Our clients have been acquitted of all human trafficking charges. We are appalled and disappointed by the rest of the decision made in this court of first instance, and we have, of course, filed an appeal to the higher court, thereby making this part of the judgement not effective,” reads the statement signed by lawyers Yael Hayat and Robert Assael and Roman Jordan.

“Under Swiss law, the presumption of innocence is paramount till a final judgement by the highest adjudicating authority is enforced. Contrary to some media reports, there is no effective detention for any members of the family,” they said.

The lawyers also pointed out that “it should also be recalled that the plaintiffs in this case had withdrawn their respective complaints after declaring to the court that they had never intended to be involved in such proceedings”.

“The family has full faith in the judicial process and remains confident that the truth will prevail,” they conclude.

The statement followed a hearing in the Swiss city of Geneva after prosecutors opened the case for alleged illegal activity, including exploitation, human trafficking and violation of Switzerland’s labour laws.

The family members were accused of seizing the workers’ passports, barring them from leaving the villa and forcing them to work very long hours for a pittance in Switzerland, among other things.

Some workers allegedly spoke only Hindi and were paid their wages in rupees in banks back in India that they could not access.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged the family spent more on their dog than on their servants.

The family’s legal team had countered the allegations and told the court the staff were treated respectfully and provided with accommodation.

According to ‘The Sunday Times Rich List’ released last month, the UK-based Hinduja family once again emerged as the country’s richest, with wealth estimated at around GBP 37.196 billion.

They saw this tally increase over the previous year in the wake of the opening of the brand-new luxury OWO Raffles Hotel in the heart of London.

The UK-based family’s group of companies, headed by chairman G.P. Hinduja, operates in 48 countries and across several sectors – automotive, oil and specialty chemicals, banking and finance, IT, cyber security, healthcare, trading, infrastructure project development, media and entertainment, power, and real estate.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Lawyers of the accused, Nicolas Jeandin, left, and Robert Assael, right, leave the courthouse after a break in the reading of the verdict, during the trial against members of the billionaire Hinduja family, in Geneva, Switzerland on June 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Britain’s wealthiest family, the Hindujas, have said they were “appalled” by a Swiss court’s ruling of jail terms for some members and have filed an appeal in a higher court challenging the verdict finding them guilty of exploiting vulnerable domestic workers from India at their villa in Geneva.

In a statement issued on behalf of the family on Friday, lawyers from Switzerland stressed their clients – Prakash and Kamal Hinduja, both in their 70s and their son Ajay and his wife Namrata – had been acquitted of all human trafficking charges.

They also dismissed media reports that any members of the family faced detention after court reports from Geneva said the four were sentenced to between four and four-and-a-half years in prison.

“Our clients have been acquitted of all human trafficking charges. We are appalled and disappointed by the rest of the decision made in this court of first instance, and we have, of course, filed an appeal to the higher court, thereby making this part of the judgement not effective,” reads the statement signed by lawyers Yael Hayat and Robert Assael and Roman Jordan.

“Under Swiss law, the presumption of innocence is paramount till a final judgement by the highest adjudicating authority is enforced. Contrary to some media reports, there is no effective detention for any members of the family,” they said.

The lawyers also pointed out that “it should also be recalled that the plaintiffs in this case had withdrawn their respective complaints after declaring to the court that they had never intended to be involved in such proceedings”.

“The family has full faith in the judicial process and remains confident that the truth will prevail,” they conclude.

The statement followed a hearing in the Swiss city of Geneva after prosecutors opened the case for alleged illegal activity, including exploitation, human trafficking and violation of Switzerland’s labour laws.

The family members were accused of seizing the workers’ passports, barring them from leaving the villa and forcing them to work very long hours for a pittance in Switzerland, among other things.

Some workers allegedly spoke only Hindi and were paid their wages in rupees in banks back in India that they could not access.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged the family spent more on their dog than on their servants.

The family’s legal team had countered the allegations and told the court the staff were treated respectfully and provided with accommodation.

According to ‘The Sunday Times Rich List’ released last month, the U.K.-based Hinduja family once again emerged as the country’s richest, with wealth estimated at around GBP 37.196 billion.

They saw this tally increase over the previous year in the wake of the opening of the brand-new luxury OWO Raffles Hotel in the heart of London.

The U.K.-based family’s group of companies, headed by chairman G.P. Hinduja, operates in 48 countries and across several sectors – automotive, oil and specialty chemicals, banking and finance, IT, cyber security, healthcare, trading, infrastructure project development, media and entertainment, power, and real estate.

A Swiss court handed jail sentences to four members of Britain’s richest family on Friday for exploiting Indian staff at their Geneva mansion.

The Hindujas — who were not present in court — were acquitted of human trafficking, but convicted on other charges in a stunning verdict for the family whose fortune is estimated at 37 billion pounds ($47 billion).

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.

The cases stem from the family’s practice of bringing servants from their native India and included accusations of confiscating their passports once they were flown to Switzerland.

Prosecutors argued the Hindujas paid their staff a pittance and gave them little freedom to leave the house.

The family denied the allegations, claiming the prosecutors wanted to “do in the Hindujas”.

The Hindujas reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with the three employees who made the accusations against them.

Despite this, the prosecution decided to pursue the case due to the gravity of the charges.

Geneva prosecutor Yves Bertossa had requested a custodial sentence of five and a half years against Prakash and Kamal Hinduja.

Aged 78 and 75 respectively, both had been absent since the start of the trial for health reasons.

In his closing address, the prosecutor accused the family of abusing the “asymmetrical situation” between a powerful employer and a vulnerable employee to save money.

Household staff were paid salaries between 220 and 400 francs ($250-450) a month, far below what they could expect to earn in Switzerland.

“They’re profiting from the misery of the world,” Bertossa told the court.

‘Not mistreated slaves’

But the Hinduja family’s defence lawyers argued that the three plaintiffs received ample benefits, were not kept in isolation and were free to leave the villa.

“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.

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 also pleaded for acquittal, claiming the prosecutors were aiming to make an example of the family.

He argued the prosecution had failed to mention payments made to staff on top of their cash salaries.

“No employee was cheated out of his or her salary,” Assael added.

Some staff even asked for raises, which they received.

With interests in oil and gas, banking and healthcare, the Hinduja Group is present in 38 countries and employs around 200,000 people.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)