Rich UK family spent more on dogs than paying staff, court heard

The UK's richest family is facing a reckoning in a Swiss court accused of subjecting their slaves to appalling conditions and being directly involved in human trafficking.

Earlier this week, Swiss prosecutor Yves Bertosa accused four members of the Hinduja family of spending more each year on dogs than the salaries of their staff members.

In the most egregious case, prosecutors said, a staff member was paid less than $8 “for working up to 18 hours a day, seven days a week.” telegraph Report

Members of the Hinduja family are also accused of denying their workers freedom of movement by taking their passports and preventing them from “leaving the house without the employer's permission”.

The Hinduja group is worth $20 billion. According to Forbes. Their marquee company, the Hinduja Group, has assets in numerous industries, including telecommunications and trucking. They maintain a portfolio of luxury real estate in the UK

Lawyers for the Hinduja family say their wrongdoing has been scrutinized. “No other family would have been treated like this. Our clients are determined to defend themselves and have confidence in the justice system,” attorney Romain Jordan said. said.

The representatives of millionaires also claim that the employment system has been distorted.

According to telegraph, a lawyer for defendant Ajay Hinduja argued that parts of the alleged ultra-long shift were actually entertaining. “When they sit down to watch a movie with the kids, can that be considered work? I don't think so,” the attorney insisted.

Some members of staff also felt that their compensation was better than what they would have otherwise earned in India, with the defense arguing that one particular employee had returned to Switzerland several times.

Attorney Ajay Hinduja said the prosecution was simply “trying to tear down the rich to make the poor less poor.”

The defense also argued that the workers' pay “could not be reduced to what they were paid in cash,” since they were not asked to pay for food or lodging.

Nevertheless, the Hindujas changed their approach to recruitment and stopped the “informal payment practice”. They attributed some of the complaints to the initial hiring decision in India.