Keystone-SDA
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June 17, 2024 – 2:49 p.m.
(Keystone-ATS) The Public Prosecutor’s Office requested on Monday before the Geneva Criminal Court sentences ranging from 4 and a half to 5 and a half years against four members of the Hinduja family. The latter are being prosecuted for human trafficking and professional usury.
The first prosecutor Yves Bertossa began his indictment with a comparison: according to the budget of the family, who lives in a villa in Cologny (GE), the amount spent on pets in 2014 was 8,584 francs while the salary of the domestic staff was between 220 and 400 francs per month. “In this family, we spend more on the dog than on the domestic workers.”
“They did all this to save money,” said the first prosecutor. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, this trial is that of a multi-billionaire family which recruits personnel in India to pay them with a slingshot. And these defendants, “who assume nothing”, did everything to escape this trial, he stressed.
At the end of a severe indictment, he requested a custodial sentence of 5 and a half years against the father, Prakash Hinduja (78 years old) and his wife Kamal (75 years old), both absent from the start of this high-tension trial, and four and a half years against their son Ajay (56 years old) and their daughter-in-law Namrata (50 years old).
The first prosecutor also asked to pronounce a compensatory debt of 3.5 million francs in favor of the State of Geneva. He justifies this request by the fact that the agreement concluded Thursday between the parties does not say a word about the salaries which have not been paid. He also asked that the procedural costs, i.e. one million francs, be borne by the defendants.
The trial continues with defense arguments.
