In the early hours of one morning, police cars made their way along the shores of Lake Geneva to the affluent suburb of Cologny.
Turning into the area, they ascended steep residential streets before halting outside a notable residence shielded by imposing security gates. This was 2018, and the target of their raid was a sprawling hillside mega-mansion belonging to Prakash Hinduja and his wife, Kamal.
Surrounded by high concrete walls and 30-foot hedges protecting a vast swimming pool, the mansion offered panoramic views from the local yacht club to the Jura Mountains. Prakash Hinduja, an elder statesman of the Swiss branch of Britain’s wealthiest family, the Hindujas, was about to face a dire turn of events.
Acting on a tip-off, the police simultaneously raided a local bank and several nearby companies linked to the extensive global empire overseen by Prakash and his three brothers. Throughout the operation, they seized a substantial cache of computer hard drives and numerous boxes of documents detailing the affairs of Prakash and his son Ajay, who also resided in the family’s Swiss compound.
In the ensuing hours, detectives gathered a staggering 2.7 million pieces of evidence implicating both father and son, along with their respective spouses, in a scandal involving the exploitation of domestic staff. These staff members, employed for tasks such as cooking, cleaning, childcare, and other menial duties, were subjected to egregious employment conditions reminiscent of Dickensian servitude.
During the trial, which began earlier in the month, three victims of the Hindujas testified extensively, painting a harrowing picture of their ordeal. A detailed 43-page indictment laid bare how the Hindujas, despite their vast wealth estimated at £37 billion, treated their employees with gross contempt and avarice, paying them as little as £250 per month to work seven days a week, up to 18 hours a day, often under deplorable living conditions.
In a courtroom revelation, prosecutor Yves Bertossa highlighted that one employee earned a meager seven Swiss francs (£6.19) for an 18-hour workday. He juxtaposed this with a budget document revealing the family spent 8,584 francs (£7,616) annually on their pet dog, underscoring the stark disparity in treatment.
The trial concluded at the Palais de Justice in Geneva with Prakash, 78, and Kamal, 75, being convicted of exploiting staff, providing unauthorized employment, and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison. Their son Ajay, 56, and his wife Namrata, 50, received four-year sentences. Najib Ziazi, the family’s business manager, received an 18-month suspended sentence.
The verdict, reflecting the severity of the allegations, highlighted a pattern of mistreatment where staff were effectively held captive upon arrival in Geneva, their passports confiscated, and wages paid in rupees inaccessible from Europe.
‘They could not, by force of circumstances, leave the property, having no knowledge of the city, the environment of the villa and no financial or personal resources in Geneva,’ reads the indictment.
‘Likewise, Kamal Hinduja often told them that if they went out, they could be arrested by the police and sent back to India, which terrified them.’
‘They were paid for their work in India, meaning they had no Swiss money and therefore limited freedom in the country.’
