FALCON POWERS – The family was convicted for confiscating their workers’ passports, preventing them from leaving, and making them work up to 18 hours a day.
The prosecution lawyers said the wealthy family kept the workers in a “climate of fear” created by the rich employer Kamal Hinduja. They were forced to work with little or no time off, even until late hours at receptions. They slept in the basement, sometimes on a mattress on the floor.
However, the Swiss court dropped more serious charges of human trafficking against 79-year-old businessman Prakash Hinduja, his wife Kamal, their son Ajay, and daughter-in-law Nemrata, based on the argument that the workers were partially aware of what they were getting into.
The four received sentences ranging from four to four-and-a-half years in prison.
The workers were mostly uneducated Indians who were not paid in Swiss francs but in Indian rupees, which were deposited in Indian banks they could not access.
The defendants’ lawyers said they will appeal the verdict. Kamal Hinduja’s lawyer Robert Assaël said he was “relieved” the human trafficking charges were dropped, but described the sentences as excessive. He cited the poor health of the elderly clients as the reason the family did not attend court.
