Swiss Court Convicts Hinduja Family Members for Staff Exploitation, Indian CEO Reacts
Four members of the Hinduja family have been sentenced in Switzerland for exploiting domestic workers. CEO Deepak Shenoy praised the court's verdict, stating it proves that even billionaires must respect labor rights and face consequences for abuse.
New Delhi: A Swiss court has in a historic judgment found four members of Britain's richest Indian-origin family, the Hindujas, guilty of ill-treating domestic servants employed at their multi-million pound villa in Geneva. The ruling has set off huge debates in India and internationally, with Capital Mind CEO Deepak Shenoy hailing the court for its commitment to workers' rights.
Prakash Hinduja and Kamal Hinduja, his wife, have both been sentenced four years and six months in jail, whereas their son Ajay and daughter-in-law Namrata received four-year prison terms. The court convicted them of mistreating their domestic employees by withholding passports from them, forcing them to work under strict conditions, and paying them very low salaries.
In spite of the convictions, the Hinduja family was exonerated on human trafficking charges since the workers had come to Switzerland on their own will.
Responding to the ruling, CEO Deepak Shenoy tweeted on social platform X (formerly Twitter), "Justice has been served… even the wealthiest families have to uphold labor rights. You can't jail staff in your villa, force them to work 18 hours a day, and hope for no fallout.
Four members of the richest family of Britain, Prakash Hinduja, his wife Kamal Hinduja, their son Ajay Hinduja and his wife Namrata Hinduja have all been sentenced to jail by a Swiss court for exploiting Indian migrant servants whom they made to work for upto 18 hours a day for… pic.twitter.com/JmyJW7Nrwq
— Poonam Joshi (@PoonamJoshi_) June 21, 2024
In the meantime, lawyers for the Hinduja family defended their clients, claiming employees were not jailed and had been treated fairly. A family representative pointed out that the decision was made in a lower court, and no family member has yet been incarcerated.
The Hindujas — whose net worth is estimated at over $20 billion — operate the international Hinduja Group, a giant conglomerate with financial, media, energy, and real estate holdings throughout Europe and Asia.
The case points out that labor exploitation is no longer hidden, even among global elites. Legal advisers say the ultimate decision rests with appeals before Switzerland's higher courts.
