Home » Who are UK’s billionaire Hindujas? Why were they jailed by Swiss Court?

Who are UK’s billionaire Hindujas? Why were they jailed by Swiss Court?

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June 22, 2024June 22, 2024
Who are UK’s billionaire Hindujas? Why were they jailed by Swiss Court?

Ajay Hinduja, with wife and parents. (Bloomberg Photo)

3 min read Last Updated : Jun 22 2024 | 10:01 AM IST

Four members of the Hinduja family, the richest in Britain, were sentenced to jail for up to 4.5 years by a Swiss court in Geneva on Friday after being found guilty of exploiting their domestic staff at their villa. They were, however, acquitted of the charge of human trafficking.

Ajay Hinduja, his parents, and his wife Namrata faced allegations, including overworking their staff for up to 18 hours a day while paying them a fraction of local wages – 7 Swiss francs ($7.84) for a day’s work.


What is the case against the Hindujas?


Prosecutors claim that the family, which has been residing in Switzerland for decades, allegedly confiscated staffs’ passports, paid them wages in India, and did not allow them to leave the villa without their permission among other things. While they were also accused of hiring their staff without proper paperwork, the family contended that the Swiss embassy in India had endorsed employees’ contracts.

They expressed disappointment on the decision and appealed the verdict to a higher court. “Contrary to some media reports, there is no effective detention for any members of the family,” a statement issued by them read.


“It should also be recalled that the plaintiffs in this case had withdrawn their respective complaints after declaring to the court that they had never intended to be involved in such proceedings. The family has full faith in the Judicial Process and remains confident that the truth will prevail,” their advocates Yael Hayat, Robert Assael, and Roman Jordan said.


The human trafficking charges were dismissed by the court as it ruled that the staff were aware of what they were getting into.


Who are the Hindujas?


Valued at $20 billion, the British-Indian group operates in eleven sectors, including automotive, oil, and finance. The 110-year-old group was founded by Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja, who began the family business by trading goods in Shikarpur town in the Sindh region of British India (now Pakistan).


Merchant Banking and trade are the twin pillars of the Group’s business, according to their official website. The group, which opened its first office outside India in Iran in 1919, remained headquartered there until 1979 before moving to Europe.


Parmanand Hinduja’s four sons Srichand P Hinduja, Gopichand, Ashok, and Prakash rapidly diversified their multi-billion-dollar family business. After Srichand Hinduja passed away in May 2023, Gopichand took over as the chairman of the empire.


The three remaining siblings are all British citizens. The Swiss case controversy involves Prakash Hinduja and his family.


When the verdict was pronounced, the four were not in the court and were represented by Najib Ziazi, the family’s business manager. Ziazi is the fifth defendant in the case and faces an 18-month suspension sentence.

First Published: Jun 22 2024 | 10:01 AM IST