New Delhi: The billionaire Hinduja family, which is currently facing a trial in Switzerland for allegations including trafficking and exploitation of their house staff, reportedly spent more on their pet dog than what they paid to one of their servants.
Launching a scathing attack on the Hinduja family, Swiss prosecutor Yves Bertossa said at Swiss city’s criminal court on Monday that a woman who was employed with the family as a servant was paid only 7 Swiss francs ($7.84) at one point of time for working 18 hours everyday, reported Bloomberg.
At the same time, the prosecutor cited a pets, which he said showed that the family spent 8,584 Swiss francs each year on their pet dog.
The prosecutor told the court that the staff contracts didn’t specify their work hours or day offs, and instead mentioned that they will be available as needed by their employers.
Bertossa said that given the fact that their wages were paid in India and they didn’t have any Swiss francs to spend, the staff members couldn’t leave the house without the permission of their employers.
The Hinduja family had also confiscated their passports, reported Bloomberg.
The lawyers representing the Hinduja family countered Bertossa, with Yael Hayat, the lawyer for Hinduja family scion Ajay Hinduja citing the testimony of the servants’ that they were treated with respect and dignity.
Besides a jail term, the prosecutors have also sought 1 million Swiss fracs as court costs and 3.5 million francs for a compensation fund.
