The heir of the Hinduja empire, Ajay Hinduja, his wife Namrata, and his parents were declared guilty of mistreating their staff, taking illegal advantage of the ones hired from India, and paying only a fraction of the standard rate in Switzerland.
The Swiss court has convicted four members of the Hinduja family for "illegally exploiting poorly paid servants" at their lavish Geneva villa in Switzerland. The elders of the Hinduja family, Prakash Hinduja, who is 78 years old, and Kamal Hinduja, who is 75, skipped the court trial due to poor health. They each were sentenced to 4 1/2 years in jail.
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As per Bloomberg, Ajay Hinduja and his wife were also not present at the court and were sentenced to 4 years of prison each. The heir of the Hinduja empire, Ajay Hinduja, his wife Namrata, and his parents were declared guilty of mistreating their staff, taking illegal advantage of the ones hired from India, and paying only a fraction of the standard rate in Switzerland.
Najib Ziazi, the business manager of the Hinduja family, was also accused and sentenced to an 18-month suspension. As per the PTI, the Hindujas expressed their dissatisfaction at the Swiss court's detention on Friday. They have announced they will file an appeal with the higher court to fight the verdict, which finds them guilty of exploiting their staff and domestic workers.
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Who are the Hindujas?Hindujas are the richest family in the United Kingdom with a networth over $20 billion. Paramanand Deepchand Hinduja established a commodities-trading business in Brittish India's Sindhi region in 1914. From there, his four sons quickly diversified the business and expanded it to new heights. The family initially found success distributing Bollywood films in the UK and other countries. The eldest son of the family, Srichand passed away in 2023.
After Sichand's death, brothers Gopichand Prakash and Ashok distributed the wealth among the three families. In 2022, the three younger brothers have fought over weath dispute Srichand and his daughter Vinoo, which was settled later.
What are the charges on Hinduja family?The Hinduja family is charged with confiscating their wokers' passports and preventing them leaving that villa. They are also accused of forcing them to work long hours around 18-hours a day with nest no vacations and leaves. Futhermore, the workers who only speak Hindi were paid in rupees to unattainable bank accounts in India.
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