A Swiss court has handed jail sentences to four members of Britain’s richest family for exploiting Indian staff at their Geneva mansion.
The Hindujas, who were not present in court, were acquitted of human trafficking but convicted of other charges on Friday in a stunning verdict for the family, whose fortune is estimated at £37bn.
Prakash Hinduja and his wife, Kamal, were each sentenced to four years and six months in prison, and their son Ajay and his wife, Namrata, received four-year terms.
It was a pipedream, but I thought for a moment this was about the royal family.
Conviction means nothing if you can’t enforce it. I highly doubt any of them would ever actually see jail.
I object to the British label.
Prakash Hinduja is Indian born Swiss. His brother S.P Hinduja was Indian born British and the billionaire head on the Hinduja company until his death last year. The company itself is Indian, so the British connection died last year and was somebody not involved in the case. This was a Swiss trial of a swiss family.
Plus… Let’s face it. People with this level of money choose their nationality based on financial or business reasons. Wherever gives them the best tax break.
I will never understand the giga-rich. They could afford to hire round-the-clock help at rates that both buy expertise and inspire loyalty. Your house staff know where the bodies are buried, maybe literally—there’s no world where it makes sense to pay them less than six figures. Remember, $100,000 is 0.01% of $1,000,000,000, or about 0.003% of their estimated net worth of $37B. They could hire an extra maid at $100,000/year and not even notice the expense.
But they can afford even more than that. Splurge a little. Hire a specialist in early childhood education to tutor your kids. Get a chef who graduated from a renowned culinary school. They could afford to spend millions on salary. Why skimp? What do they think they are saving up for?
