A Swiss court has sentenced four members of Britain’s richest family, the Hinduja, to prison for exploit Indian staff that they brought from their country of origin to work in their mansion in Geneva, specifically in the wealthy neighborhood of Cologny.
Prakash and Kamal Hinduja, along with their son Ajay and his wife Namrata, were found guilty of labor exploitation and illegal recruitment by a Swiss court, with prison sentences of between four and four and a half years. However, although they have been acquitted of the more serious charge of human trafficking for labor exploitation, lawyers for the Indo-Swiss family members — who were not present in court — said they they would appeal the verdict and that they would “fight until the end, as reported by the BBC.
The family, whose fortune is estimated, approximately, at 43,000 million euros (£37 billion) paid its employees only €8.19 (£7) for 18-hour workdays. Added to this salary, which is one tenth of what is established by Swiss law, is the fact that their passports were confiscated.
During the trial, it was argued that the Hindujas spent more “on your pet than on your employees“, reports the British media. Instead, the defense maintained that the workers received “adequate” benefits and were free to leave the residence. The defendants, on the other hand, have stated that they were “rarely” allowed to leave the house.
The elder members of the Hinduja family, Prakash Hinduja and Kamal Hinduja, both over 70 years old, They did not attend the hearings for health reasons. Prakash’s son and his wife, Ajay Hinduja and Namrata Hinduja, respectively, were present in the court but did not hear the sentencing.
Lawyers for the accused, Nicolas Jeandin (left) and Robert Assael (right), leave the court after a break in the reading of the verdict, during the trial against members of the Hindu billionaire Hinduja family.
Efe
Swiss
After the verdict, the prosecution requested an arrest warrant for the younger couplebut it was denied by the judge, since Kamal Hinduja is hospitalized in Monaco, accompanied by the rest of the family.
This It is not the first case of alleged mistreatment of domestic employees linked to the city of Geneva, an epicenter of wealth and international organizations.
Exploitation in Geneva
Currently it is the Hinduja family, owner of the Hinduja Group and the Raffles hotel in Londonwho has been in the ‘eye of the hurricane’ for the aforementioned accusations.
However, last year, four domestic workers from the Philippines filed a complaint against one of the UN diplomatic missions in Geneva —in practice an embassy— claiming they had not been paid for years.
The convicted Prakash Hinduja, the eldest member of the family who is hospitalized
Wikipedia Commons
In relation to the complaint for labor exploitation trafficking, which the victims’ lawyers will appeal upon being dismissed, it should be said that, according to article 4.a) of the Council of Europe Convention, which establishes the definition of human trafficking, the This can be confirmed if three key elements are met: the act, the means and the end.
The three elements must attend for it to be considered that human trafficking is taking place, except in the case of children, where it is not necessary to verify the existence of the means.
The trafficking appeal
In this case, housing people by recruiting them from their countries of origin using the threat, use of force or other forms of coercion, such as take away their passport, would make up the act; which was done through deception, promises that they will have a decent job and salary, which would be the middle; to force them to perform forced labor, the end.
With all of the above, the appeal of the lawyers of the exploited could proceed and end up being charged, too, for human trafficking for labor exploitation.
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