All that glitters is not gold: How the rich and famous Hinduja family ended up in Swiss court

A court in Switzerland handed jail sentences to the four members of Britain’s richest family for exploiting Indian staff at their mansion in Geneva. While the members of the rich and famous Hinduja family were acquitted of human trafficking, they were convicted of other charges.

In the historic verdict that came out on Friday, Prakash Hinduja and his wife, Kamal, were each sentenced to four years and six months in prison, while their son Ajay and his wife, Namrata, received four-year terms each.

The verdict stirred major headlines in the UK since the family’s fortune stands at £37 billion and their business has expanded across several countries.

What makes Hindujas different from other rich and famous families is its century-old legacy. While the family is known for sticking together and building a strong empire, it is not free from controversies. Here’s a look at the history of the Hinduja, what the case is about and what happens next.

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Who are the Hindujas? 

The family started building an empire back in 1914 when Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja set up a commodities-trading business in British India’s Sindh region (now in Pakistan).

P. D. Hinduja is credited with establishing trade links between India and Persia. Initially operating in Shikarpur (now in Pakistan) and Bombay, he set up the company’s first international operation in Iran in 1919.

Interestingly, the headquarters of the Hinduja company remained in Iran until 1979, when the Islamic revolution forced them to Europe. PD’s two oldest sons former Group Chairman Srichand Hinduja and his brother Gopichand, also Co-Chairman, moved to London in 1979 to develop the export business.

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Meanwhile, the third brother Prakash Hinduja, who was sentenced to prison, managed operations in Geneva, Switzerland while the youngest brother, Ashok, oversaw the Indian interests.

Interestingly, the Hinduja group also found success in distributing Bollywood films internationally. After the oldest son of P.D. Hinduja, Srichand passed away in 2023, the helm of the company was handled by the three brothers.

The multi-billionaire family has interests in finance, media, and energy sectors and owns stakes in six publicly traded Indian companies. Not only this, they are one of the wealthiest families in the world.

The UK-based family’s group of companies, currently headed by chairman G.P. Hinduja, operates in 48 countries and across several sectors.

What was the case about? 

The conviction stemmed from a case filed in 2018. When Swiss prosecutors acted on a tipoff and raided their Geneva villa, Bloomberg reported. The prosecutors accused the family of bringing servants from their native India, exploiting them and paying them one-tenth of the wages, that the state mandates.

The family was accused of confiscating the staff’s passports once they had arrived in Switzerland. The Hindujas allegedly gave their staff little to no freedom and the staff was kept in inhumane conditions.

From the very beginning of the case, the Hindujas have denied the allegations. However, it was reported that the family reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with the three employees who had made the accusations against them. Despite the settlement, the prosecutors decided to move forward with the case given the gravity of the situation.

The Geneva prosecutor Yves Bertossa requested custodial sentences of five and a half years for Prakash and Kamal Hinduja. Both had been absent since the start of the trial for health reasons. In his closing address, Bertossa accused the family of abusing the “asymmetrical situation” between powerful employer and vulnerable employee to save money.

“They’re profiting from the misery of the world,” Bertossa told the court. The Hinduja Family’s defence lawyers argued that the three plaintiffs received ample benefits and were not kept in isolation. The defendants argued that the staff members were free to leave the villa whenever they wanted. “We are not dealing with mistreated slaves,” Nicolas Jeandin told the court.

The infamous family feud 

The family is famously touted as inseparable, in fact, they were so close that three of the brothers’ sons had their wedding on the same day in Mumbai.

However, this is not the first time the world has seen the Hindujas in a bad light. The trouble between the family started brewing in 2016 when Srichand insisted that the family assets should be separated.

By 2018, the brothers started lobbying in the Switzerland-headquartered Hinduja Bank, which was headed by Srichanda at that time and claimed that the oldest brother lacked the capacity to handle the private bank.

In November 2019, Srichand approached the Business and Property Court in London against his brothers overtaking the bank under a 2014 family agreement. In return, the brothers stated that Vinoo, SP’s daughter, shouldn’t be representing her father in the proceedings.

At that time Srichand was suffering from Lewy Body disease, a form of dementia. Ultimately the court favoured Vinoo’s appointment and she still heads the bank.

What happens next? 

Shortly after the sentencing, the Hinduja family said that they were “appalled” by the ruling. They also mentioned that they have filed an appeal in a higher court challenging the verdict.

“Our clients have been acquitted of all human trafficking charges. We are appalled and disappointed by the rest of the decision made in this court of first instance, and we have, of course, filed an appeal to the higher court, thereby making this part of the judgement not effective,” reads the statement signed by lawyers Yael Hayat and Robert Assael and Roman Jordan, representing the family.

“Under Swiss law, the presumption of innocence is paramount till a final judgement by the highest adjudicating authority is enforced. Contrary to some media reports, there is no effective detention for any members of the family,” they furthered.

The lawyers also pointed out that “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." They ended the letter with the assurance that “Truth will prevail”.

With inputs from agencies.