(NewsSpace.com) – The Hinduja Group is a transnational conglomerate that spans several industries, including trading, chemicals, automotive, media and entertainment, and real estate. The family is said to be the wealthiest in the United Kingdom, with an estimated net worth of $47 billion. However, the Hinduja family recently went on trial, and was found guilty of exploiting staff members but escaped a more serious charge of human trafficking.
On Friday, June 24, a judge sentenced four members of the Hinduja family, Ajay and his wife, Namrata, as well as his parents, Prakash and Kamal, to four and a half years in prison. They were found to be guilty of exploiting their staff members in Switzerland. The conviction comes on the heels of an investigation that dates back to 2018.
The Hinduja family reportedly hired workers from India, made them work seven days a week, sometimes 18 hours a day, and paid them a mere $8 per day, just a fraction of Switzerland’s going rate. Not only that, but the Hindujas confiscated passports and paid the workers once every three to six months. The family lawyers argued that the Hindujas, specifically Ajay, weren’t involved in the contract negotiations, or aware of what was in them. Additionally, the attorneys pointed to the fact that the workers were given free room and board in Geneva, which is one of the continent’s most expensive cities, which should count toward their compensation.
Earlier in the trial, the family had reached a civil settlement of $950,000 for compensation and just over $300,000 for legal fees.
While the family was found guilty of exploitation, they were cleared of a more serious charge: human trafficking. That didn’t satisfy the family attorneys, however, who said they planned to appeal the verdict. Robert Assael, one of the lawyers, said they were “going to fight it to the bitter end.”
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