Britain’s richest family sues for exploitation

A Swiss court has found four members of Britain’s richest family, the Indian Hinduja family, guilty of exploitation. The Guardian and the BBC reported this on Saturday, June 22.

It was noted that Prakash and Kamal Hinduja, as well as their son Ajay and his wife Namrat, were found guilty of exploiting and illegally employing the people they brought from India to work for them. Family members were sentenced to 4 to 4.5 years.

They were acquitted of the more serious charges of human trafficking.

The elderly Hinduja couple (both over 70) did not attend court hearings, citing poor health. Ajay and Namrat attended the trial but did not hear the verdicts.

Lawyers for the defendants said they would challenge the Swiss court’s decision.

Three workers brought by the Hindujas from India said the family paid them just £7 ($8) for an 18-hour day – less than a tenth of the amount required under Swiss law. Workers’ passports were also confiscated and they were rarely allowed to leave their homes. During the trial, prosecutors argued that the family spent more on their dog than on their servants.

Lawyers for the Hinduja family argued that the three plaintiffs received significant benefits and were not kept in isolation and were free to leave the villa. Workers thank their employers for giving them a better life, lawyers say.

The Hinduja family owns the Hinduja Group, a multinational conglomerate involved in oil, gas and banking. The family also owns the Raffles Hotel in London. The family’s combined wealth is estimated at around £37 billion (about $47 billion).

It was previously reported that a criminal group was jailed in Spain for sexually exploiting Ukrainian women.

As we have already written, cases of labor exploitation of Ukrainians have become more frequent in Finland.