Hinduja family staff settle civil lawsuit over domestic workers’ exploitation allegations

The Hindujas are accused of making staff work between 15 to 18 hour days, seven days a week, that their passports were confiscated and that they worked on the basis of short-term tourist visas obtained on false pretenses, over and over again.

Domestic staff for a branch of the billionaire Hinduja family, whose allegations of worker exploitation in Switzerland triggered a human trafficking indictment, settled their dispute even as a criminal case continues.

A deal to end the civil suit was reached this week, Olivier Peter, a lawyer for one of the three claimants said, without confirming the details of the accord. The settlement comes more than six years after the workers filed their case. The trial had been beset by delays but got underway this week in Geneva.

The Hindujas are accused of making staff work between 15 to 18 hour days, seven days a week, that their passports were confiscated and that they worked on the basis of short-term tourist visas obtained on false pretenses, over and over again.

The withdrawal of the plaintiffs’ complaint might be a factor that could sway a jury if this case were being held in the US, but in Swiss criminal trials, the verdict will be rendered by a panel of three judges, making its potential impact harder to gauge. A conviction could still carry a fine or prison sentence regardless of the civil outcome.

Ajay Hinduja, the scion of the Swiss-based branch of the family, rejected allegations he made an Indian nanny at his Swiss villa work punitive hours, saying it would’ve been idiotic to do so when she was like a “second mum” to his kids.

Ajay Hinduja testified that the staff’s Swiss paperwork was all in order, which goes to the heart of the indictment accusing the family of illegally trafficking their staff in and out of Switzerland. The judge challenged him on his testimony, saying checks demonstrated the staff only ever had French-issued, Schengen-zone visas, which allow people to move without passport checks within the European travel area.

Prosecutor Yves Bertossa will open his case against the family on Monday. That will be followed by the defense’s closing arguments before a verdict that’s scheduled for Friday. A spokesman for the Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment on the civil settlement.

Romain Jordan, the lead lawyer for the family, declined to comment.