Billionaire Hindujas faces human trafficking trial, prosecutors allege his family spent more on pets than staff: report

The billionaire Hinduja family faces allegations of mistreatment of domestic staff at their Lake Geneva villa. The very wealthy family was accused of confiscating staff passports and paying just $8 for 15 to 18 hours of work.

Four members of the family now face a trial on human trafficking charges, which began on Monday. According to Bloombergwho first reported the development, three plaintiffs dropped the civil suit against the family days after reaching a settlement.

The lawsuit centers on accusations that the billionaire family seized its employees' passports and prevented them from leaving the residence without permission. According to Bloombergstaff were paid in India, leaving them without Swiss currency during their stay in the country.

A prosecutor accused the Hindujas of spending more on their pet dog than they paid for a staff member, according to the report.

Prosecutor Yves Bertossa informed the court that, according to a budget document titled “Pet Animals,” a female employee was paid just 7 Swiss francs ($7.84) for a working day that stretched from 15 to 6 p.m., seven days a week. that this amount was less than what the family spent on their pet dog over the course of a year, which amounted to 8,584 Swiss francs.

Prosecutors are seeking heavy sentences against four family members: Prakash Hinduja, his wife Kamal, their son Ajay and his wife Namrata.

Yves Bertossa also demanded that the family pay 1 million Swiss francs in legal costs and pay 3.5 million francs to a staff compensation fund.

The Hindujas' lawyer denied the allegations, saying the family was not responsible for recruiting or overseeing the day-to-day management of staff.

In a statement to Forbes, Romain Jordan, the lawyer representing the Hindujas, criticized prosecutors and alleged there was bias against the billionaire family.

“No other family would have been treated this way. Our clients remain determined to defend themselves and have confidence in the justice system,” Jordan was quoted as saying by the media. Forbes.

“The salary cannot simply be reduced to what they were paid in cash given that their food and accommodation were covered,” another family lawyer, Yael Hayat, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg while dismissing claims of an 18-hour workday as an “exaggeration.”

The London-based Hinduja family is among the richest in the world and is also ranked among the richest in India. They control the multinational conglomerate Hinduja.