Swiss court sentences 4 members of Hinduja family to up to 4 1/2 years for exploiting their servants
Geneva, Jun 21: A Swiss criminal court on Friday sentenced four members of the wealthy Hinduja family with between four and 4 1/2 years in prison for exploiting their vulnerable domestic workers. The court at the same time threw out the more severe charges of human trafficking.
The four — Indian-born tycoon Prakash Hinduja and his wife, son and daughter-in-law — were accused of trafficking of their servants, mostly illiterate Indians, who were employed at their luxurious lakeside villa in Geneva.
The four were not in court in Geneva though a fifth defendant — Najib Ziazi, the family's business manager — was in attendance. He received an 18 months suspended sentence.
The lawyers representing the defendants said they would appeal.
The court said the four were guilty of exploiting workers and providing unauthorised employment. It dismissed the trafficking charges on the grounds that the staff understood what they were getting into.
The four Hinduja family members were accused of seizing workers' passports, paying them in rupees – not Swiss francs — barring them from leaving the villa and forcing them to work excruciatingly long hours for a pittance in Switzerland, among other things.
Last week, it emerged in criminal court that the family — which has roots in India — had reached an undisclosed settlement with the plaintiffs. Geneva prosecutors opened the case for alleged illegal activity including exploitation, human trafficking and violation of Swiss labour laws.
The family set up residence in Switzerland decades ago, and Prakash was already convicted in 2007 on similar, if lesser charges, though prosecutors say he persisted in employing people without proper paperwork anyway.
Swiss authorities have already seized diamonds, rubies, a platinum necklace and other jewellery and assets from the family in anticipation that they could be used to pay for legal fees and possible penalties.
Prosecutors said that at times the staffers — in jobs like cooks or house help — were forced to work up to 18 hours a day with little or no vacation time off and for pay that was equal to less than one-tenth of the comparable amount required under Swiss law.
Employees worked even later hours for receptions and slept in the basement of the villa in the upscale Cologny neighbourhood — sometimes on a mattress on the floor, prosecutors said. They described a “climate of fear” instituted by Kamal Hinduja.
Some employees allegedly spoke only Hindi and were paid their wages in Indian rupees in banks back home that they couldn't access.
A separate tax case brought by Swiss authorities is pending against Prakash Hinduja, who obtained Swiss citizenship in 2000.
Along with three brothers, he is a leader of an industrial conglomerate in sectors including information technology, media, power, real estate and health care. Forbes magazine currently puts the net worth of the Hinduja family at some $20 billion.
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EY employee's death: Maharashtra labour dept official inspects at firm's Pune office
Pune(PTI): A Maharashtra labour department official on Monday inspected the office of Ernst & Young (EY) here on the directions of the Central government over the death of a woman chartered accountant.
Anna Sebastian Perayil (26) allegedly died due to work stress four months into joining the firm in Pune. Following her death, Sebastian's mother wrote to EY India chairman Rajiv Memani alleging that the workload and extended working hours took a toll on her daughter. The firm, however, denied the allegations.
The Keralite, who passed her CA exams in 2023, died in July.
Additional labour commissioner Shailendra Pol said, "As per the directions from the Central government, an inspection was conducted today to assess the working conditions and factual situation at the EY Pune office."
A government labour officer visited the office for the inspection, he said.
"We requested details about the company's policies regarding office operations, employee welfare, and handling of extra working hours, including compensation to employees. The company has to furnish this information within seven days," Pol said.
"We reviewed the victim's appointment letter, including its terms and conditions. From the appointment letter, it was determined that she (her job profile) does not fall under the legal definition of 'labour'," he said.
However, since Sebastian was an employee, the matter must be addressed from the perspective of employee welfare and well-being, the official said.
"Once the firm furnishes the details requested, a report will be sent to the Central authorities, who will then determine the next course of action," he said.
Union Minister for Labour Mansukh Mandaviya had recently said that the matter is being probed.
