Although the Hinduja family was acquitted in the accusation of human trafficking , four members were convicted after the accusation of the Geneva prosecutor, Yves Bertossa, who maintained that they spent "more money on the dog than on the domestic employees."
They are Prakash Hinduja, 78, and his wife Kamal, 75, their son Ajay, 56, and his wife Namrata, 50 . The first two were sentenced to four years and six months in prison, and the rest to four years.
It was announced by the president of the Geneva court, Sabina Mascotto . For its part, the defense considered that the Prosecutor's Office seeks to "kill the Hindujas" , arguing that none of the workers "were deceived regarding their salary."
The Hinduja group is from India and has a fortune estimated by the Sunday Times at 37 billion pounds (47 billion dollars) . The firm has oil and gas assets in 38 countries , and 200,000 employees , including banking and medical services .
The ruling of the Judiciary mentions that they paid their domestic employees a salary "80% to 90% lower" than what they would receive in Switzerland, and that they took advantage of the “inexperience of the employees, who had little or no education and ignored their rights".
The Ámbito media outlet highlights that “Bertossa requested the immediate arrest of Ajay and Namrata, alleging a flight risk, but the president of the court denied the request, considering that all the accused, of Swiss nationality, have ties of roots with the alpine country” , taking into account that “the president of the court ruled out the charge of human trafficking, arguing that some employees returned to Geneva after traveling to India.”
