Members of Britain’s richest family on trial for human trafficking

Four members of the billionaire Hinduja family — the richest family in the UK — are on trial in Switzerland for exploitation and human trafficking. The BBC reports that they are worth an estimated £37 billion ($47 billion). Here’s the story.

Photo: Namrata Hinduja (L) and Ajay Hinduja (R) arrive at the Geneva's courthouse with their lawyer Robert Assael (C).

Prakash and Kamal Hinduja, their son Ajay and his wife Namrata could see years behind bars for how they treated their staff in Geneva. As BBC reports, it is alleged that they confiscated staff’s passports, paid them as little as $8 per day for 18-hour days and allowed them little freedom to leave the house.

Photo: Princess Anne shakes hands with Kamal Hinduja, who stands next to her husband Prakash in 2023

Prosecutor Yves Bertossa argued that the family spent nearly $10,000 per year on the family dog — significantly more than on paying any of their servants, according to Bloomberg.

The family’s lawyers contested the claim of 18-hour working days. “When they sit down to watch a movie with the kids, can that be considered work? I think not,” said the lawyer for Ajay Hinduja, Bloomberg reports. At the same time, the family insists that food and lodging were also paid for.

Given that the domestic workers were hired in India, the family also argues that the pay was good compared to local wages, according to Bloomberg. Another argument is that the family members lacked knowledge of the working conditions since the recruitment was handled by the  Hinduja Group in India.

Bloomberg reports that a civil case against the family was settled last week for an undisclosed amount. Three of the plaintiffs dropped the case against them.

Photo: Prakash P. Hinduja of Hinduja Group

The Hinduja family controls the multinational conglomerate the Hinduja Group with businesses ranging from trucks and chemicals to banking and cable television, according to Forbes. They also own substantial real estate in London.The business was founded by Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja in 1914.

Photo: Gopichand Hinduja, brother to the accused Prakash Hinduja, with then-Prince Charles in 2019

Since it is alleged that the family took the staff’s passports away, the case is being investigated criminally for human trafficking. But this isn’t the first time the ultra-wealthy in Geneva have been in hot water for treating their staff poorly.

In 2008, Swiss authorities arrested the son of Libya’s former dictator Muammar Gaddafi for allegedly beating servants. The case was dropped but opened a huge diplomatic rift between Switzerland and Libya, with two Swiss citizens arrested in Tripoli as a retaliatory measure, according to the BBC.

In 2023, four Filipina workers sued their diplomatic employers, alleging they had been unpaid for up to 20 years! While employers have diplomatic immunity, Al Jazeera reports that they are suing the Pakistan Mission to the United Nations in Switzerland.

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