These Luxurious NYC Apartments Are On The Market—From Katharine Hepburn’s Former Home To Judge Judy’s Penthouse A human trafficking trial began in Switzerland Monday against four members of the billionaire Hinduja family who are accused of exploiting household staff at their villa on Lake Geneva, paying as little as $8 for work days that stretched from 15 to 18 hours and confiscating the passports of those who worked for them, allegations a lawyer for the family has denied.their lawyers on Jan.
Details of the settlement were not disclosed but the parties reached an agreement Friday, six years after the civil suit was filed, over allegations they paid their staff, including childcare workers, a fraction of local wages and forced them to work illegally long hours. The criminal charges center around claims the Hindujas illegally brought the staff in and out of Switzerland after having confiscated their passports, that servants weren't allowed to leave the employer's house without permission and that they were paid for their work in India, meaning they had no Swiss money and therefore little freedom when visiting the country, according to
Yael Hayat, attorney for Ajay Hinduja, reportedly said in court that claims of an 18-hour work day were an exaggeration and that the salaries, said to be below $8 per day,"can’t simply be reduced to what they were paid in cash" because staff food and lodging were paid for by the family. Prosecutors are pushing for years-long prison sentences for all four Hinduja family members and want to demand a compensation fund worth millions of dollars be established for staff members.Yael Hayat, a lawyer for the family, did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment Monday.One prosecutor accused the Hindujas of spending more to pamper their family dog than they paid one of their staff members, according tolast year, with an estimated net worth of $20 billion as of October.