UK's richest family on trial for human trafficking, forced labor in India

The UK's richest family, the Hinduja family, are on trial in Switzerland after being accused of exploitation and human trafficking, amid allegations they cared more about their dog than their his Indian servants.

The family, worth an estimated £37 billion ($47 billion), owns a villa in Geneva's wealthy Cologny district. The allegations say Prakash and Kamal Hinduja, their son Ajay and his wife Namrata confiscated the servants' passports, paying them just $8 (£7) for 18-hour days and giving them little freedom to leave the house .

A financial settlement on the exploitation charges was reached last week, but they remain on trial on trafficking charges.

Yves Bertossa, one of Geneva's most famous prosecutors, claimed that the family spent $10,000 a year on their dog, in contrast to the daily amount they paid their servants.

Lawyers for the Hinduja family argued that staff were also provided with accommodation and food.

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Former servants testified in the case, describing the family as friendly people who treated their servants with dignity.

Bertossa is seeking prison time as well as millions of dollars in compensation and legal fees.

Geneva has previously been the center of alleged mistreatment of servants by the world's richest.

In 2008, Hannibal Gaddafi, son of former Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi, was arrested at his hotel after police received reports that he and his wife had beaten their servants.

Last year, four Filipino domestic workers filed a complaint against one of Geneva's diplomatic missions to the United Nations, saying they had not been paid for years.