An Indian CEO has strongly endorsed a Swiss court decision to convict four members of Britain's richest family - the Hindujas - for exploiting domestic staff at their villa in Geneva.
Prakash Hinduja and his wife Kamal Hinduja each got four years and six months in jail, while their son Ajay and his wife Namrata were handed four-year terms.
The family was, however, acquitted of the more serious charge of human trafficking, on the grounds that the workers had travelled to Switzerland willingly.
The Hindujas 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.
Capital Mind CEO Deepak Shenoy reacted strongly to the Swiss Court ruling, saying it demonstrated that even the richest can't get away with such practices.
"Justice has been served. Even a rich family like the Hindujas can't get away from employment protection; you can't withhold passports, lock people in your house, make them work 18 hours per day, and still pay them peanuts. Jail terms and fines in Switzerland for the Hindujas," he posted on X - earlier known as Twitter.
Four members of the richest family of Britain, Prakash Hinduja, his wife Kamal Hinduja, their son Ajay Hinduja and his wife Namrata Hinduja have all been sentenced to jail by a Swiss court for exploiting Indian migrant servants whom they made to work for upto 18 hours a day for… pic.twitter.com/JmyJW7Nrwq
— Poonam Joshi (@PoonamJoshi_) June 21, 2024
The Hinduja family's defence lawyers argued that the three persons who had sued the family had received ample benefits, were not kept in isolation and were free to leave the villa.
"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," a family spokesperson said.
He said the none of the Hindujas have been imprisoned.
The Hinduja family, ranked among India's richest with an estimated net worth of $20 billion, controls the multinational conglomerate the Hinduja group, with interests in shipping, banking, media and other industries, besides real estate in London.
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