On Monday, the trial of the Hinduja case resumed with the indictment of the first prosecutor. The defense will follow.
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Always pugnacious, sometimes emotional, the first prosecutor Yves Bertossa delivered his indictment Monday morning. He asked the Geneva Criminal Court to find the defendants, four members of the Hinduja family and their financial director, guilty of all charges, including human trafficking. “You are criminals by profession,” he told the trio sitting in the dock.
Against the father, Prakash Hinduja, aged 78, and the mother, Kamal, 75, both absent, the prosecutor requested 5 and a half years in prison and a 180-day fine (3,000 francs per day) with reprieve. In the eyes of Yves Bertossa, their son (56 years old) and their daughter-in-law (50 years old) should be sentenced to 4 and a half years of imprisonment. Finally, against the financial director (64 years old), accused of having been their accomplice are requested 3 years including 18 months closed.
Alone to make the accusation
Following the withdrawal of the three complainants due to a last-minute agreement on Thursday, the Public Prosecutor’s Office is now alone in bringing the accusation against the five defendants. Alone but determined to demonstrate the guilt of this multi-billionaire family, who are accused of having employed domestic staff in their villa in Cologny (GE), for more than ten years (end of 2006 to spring 2018).
Referring to the Hinduja budget for the year 2014, he mentioned the 8,584 francs under the heading “pets”, meaning domestic animals. “In this family, we spend more per year on the dog than on the domestic workers.” The tone is set. Supporting photos, the prosecutor described the room of the household staff: “the wrought iron bunk bed, the mattress which must be 10 cm, a bedside table, no window, a small fan. This accommodation is worthy of a slumlord!”
“We took advantage of the world’s misery”
In his eyes, there is no doubt about the abuse of vulnerability in this case. “In India, they live in poverty. We brought them in and they were happy. We took advantage of the world’s misery.” He stressed: “This is the trial of a multi-billionaire family who recruited staff in India to pay them with slingshots.” The prosecutor thus recalled that for years, these employees worked in the villa, without a work permit, at 1 franc per hour, 15 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week, without leave.
Regarding the staff passports, here again, Yves Bertossa did not mince his words: “We find them in a locked cupboard which belongs to Kamal. We can say that they are confiscated!” For the prosecutor, it is clear that the Hinduja “despise our laws, justice and human dignity”.
A compensatory claim of 3.5 million
Concerning the agreement concluded on Thursday, the Public Prosecutor’s Office also clarified: “Don’t see any repentance there!” He noted that the document refers to severance pay “but not a word about salaries not paid during all the years of work”. Believing that “the enrichment continues”, Yves Bertossa demanded the payment of a compensatory debt of 3.5 million in favor of the State. Added 1 million in procedural costs. Driving the point home, the first prosecutor concluded about the Hinduja: “They had everything to respect them and they treated these people in a sickening manner. It’s sickening and it’s an injustice.”
Enough to leave the defense a bit stunned. To the point that Me Yaël Hayat, lawyer for Hinduja’s son, began her pleading by evoking “a indictment that looks like a stunner.” The lawyers will continue throughout the afternoon and then tomorrow. The verdict will be delivered on Friday at 4 p.m.
