Four members of Britain’s richest family have received jail sentences after being found guilty of exploiting their vulnerable domestic workers and providing unauthorised employment.
Indian-born tycoon Prakash Hinduja and his wife Kamal, along with their son Ajay and his wife Namrata, were, however, cleared by a Swiss criminal court of more serious charges of human trafficking linked to their servants.
The court ruled the servants, who were mostly illiterate Indians and worked at their lakeside villa in Geneva, knew what they were getting into.
The four family members were sentenced to between four and four-and-a-half years in prison.
The lawyers representing the defendants said they would appeal.
In their defence, the Hinduja family’s legal team stated the staff were treated respectfully and provided with accommodation.
The four were accused of seizing workers’ passports, paying them in rupees – not Swiss francs – barring them from leaving the villa and forcing them to work very long hours for a pittance in Switzerland, among other things.
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Sentences
Prakash and Kamal each received jail sentences of four-and-a-half years, while Ajay and his wife Namrata were sentenced to four years each.
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The defendants were not in court in Geneva though a fifth defendant – Najib Ziazi, the family’s business manager – was there on Friday. He received an 18-month suspended sentence.
Prakash and Kamal, aged 78 and 75 respectively, reportedly did not attend the trial due to health reasons.
It emerged last week in criminal court the family – which has roots in India – had reached an undisclosed settlement with the plaintiffs. Geneva prosecutors opened the case for alleged illegal activity including exploitation, human trafficking and violation of Swiss labour laws.
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The prosecution said the workers – who were in jobs such as cooks or house help – were sometimes forced to work up to 18 hours a day with little or no holiday time off.
And their pay was less than one-tenth of the comparable amount required under Swiss law, it was alleged.
Employees worked even later hours for receptions and slept in the basement of the villa in the upmarket Cologny area – sometimes on a mattress on the floor, said prosecutors, who described a “climate of fear” brought by Kamal Hinduja.
Some workers allegedly spoke only Hindi and were paid their wages in Indian rupees in banks back home that they could not access.
Swiss authorities have already seized jewellery including diamonds, rubies, a platinum necklace, as well as other assets, from the family in anticipation they could be used to pay for legal fees and possible penalties.
Image: Brothers Prakash, Gopichand and Srichand Hinduja in 1996. Pic: Rex/Shutterstock
The Hinduja family controls multinational conglomerate the Hinduja Group with businesses ranging from trucks and lubricants to banking and cable television.
Prakash Hinduja’s brother Gopichand took over as chairman after older sibling Srichand died in May 2023.
Prakash is chair of the Hinduja Group in Europe, while a fourth brother Ashok is chair of Hinduja Group of Companies (India).
The family, led by Gopichand, topped the 2024 Sunday Times rich list with a combined wealth of £37.196bn.
A father has told Sky News how his partner was driven over, and his baby son was flung 15ft in his pram, after they were hit by a vehicle during the Liverpool parade collision.
Daniel Everson, 36, had been with Sheree Aldridge and their five-month-old baby, Teddy, at Liverpool FC’s victory parade on Monday.
“The best day of my life turned into worst”, said Daniel, a lifelong fan of ‘The Reds’.
Daniel described the moment the car came towards him and his family.
“I tried to hold on to the front of the car and try and stop it, push it, do whatever I could [to stop it] from hitting my partner and my baby.
Image: Daniel Everson was in the crowd for the Liverpool trophy parade when the incident took place
“Me and my partner were flat on the roof, on the bonnet… we were just both trying to hold on for dear life with Ted next to us.
“And my partner went under the wheels of the car, of the front of the car, and it rolled over her leg, and I just bounced off to the side, but my boy and his pram got bounced totally in the opposite direction – about 15ft down the road.
“As soon as that happened, I just started screaming for my partner, and I found her and I asked where Teddy was, and she didn’t know… and I found him and he was okay, thank God.
“He was in the road, in his pram, on his back, and I grabbed him. I chucked the pushchair to the side and I ran up to some paramedics with him.”
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The suspect is being held on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving.
Daniel, from Telford, said he felt like he was in “hell” as he rushed back to find Sheree.
“I had to carry her up the road with four police officers holding her while she was screaming and crying. At that point, I didn’t know what was wrong with her, but I could see the injuries to her leg,” he explained.
Sheree, 36, is recovering at Aintree University Hospital after suffering muscle tissue damage. Daniel has been allowed to return home with Teddy after he was assessed at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
“I feel a lot of emotions right now. Upset, angry, traumatised. A lot of unanswered questions that need to be answered.
“To me, it just wasn’t handled properly – the situation with the car getting that far into the crowd, in my opinion, he should not have got anywhere near us.”
Merseyside Police have now been given more time to question a 53-year-old arrested after a car struck a crowd at Liverpool FC’s victory parade on Monday.
The suspect, who police have described as a white British man from the local area, is being held on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving, and drug driving.
Police have said the extra time they have been given to question the suspect runs into Thursday.
Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate have been charged with rape and other offences in the UK.
Andrew Tate, 38, faces 10 charges, including rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain, relating to three women.
His brother Tristan Tate, 36, faces 11 charges relating to one woman – including rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking.
The charges were authorised in January 2024, but full details have only been released now.
Bedfordshire Police issued an international arrest warrant for the brothers over allegations, which they “unequivocally deny”, said to have occurred between 2012 and 2015.
The Tate brothers are facing separate allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering in Romania.
They are also accused of human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women in a different case, which has been sent back to prosecutors.
They are due to be extradited to the UK following the conclusion of proceedings in Romania.
Image: Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan outside a Bucharest court in January. File pic: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via Reuters
A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we have authorised charges against Andrew and Tristan Tate for offences including rape, human trafficking, controlling prostitution and actual bodily harm against three women.
“These charging decisions followed receipt of a file of evidence from Bedfordshire Police.
“A European Arrest Warrant was issued in England in 2024, and as a result the Romanian courts ordered the extradition to the UK of Andrew and Tristan Tate.”
The spokesperson added: “However, the domestic criminal matters in Romania must be settled first.
“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds everyone that criminal proceedings are active, and the defendants have the right to a fair trial.
“It is extremely important that there be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
Representatives for Andrew Tate have been contacted by Sky News for comment.
Lawyer Matt Jury, of McCue Jury & Partners, representing several alleged British victims of Andrew Tate, said: “We welcome the clarity from the Crown Prosecution Service that our authorities are working to ensure the Tates face justice here in the UK – they cannot be allowed to escape extradition.
“At the same time, we ask once more that CPS admit its mistake in failing to prosecute Tate when he lived in the UK and finally charge him for the rape and assault of the other three women, our clients, who originally filed criminal complaints against him as long ago as 2014 but were failed by the system.
“They deserve justice, too.”
The allegations were subject to a police investigation, which was closed in 2019.
Merseyside Police has been given more time to question a 53-year-old man arrested over the Liverpool parade collision.
The suspect is being held on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving after a car was driven into a crowd at Liverpool FC’s victory parade on Monday.
Police have said the extra time they have been given to question the suspect runs into Thursday.
The force believes the vehicle which struck pedestrians on Water Street had followed an ambulance crew that was attending to someone suffering a heart attack, after a road block was temporarily lifted.
Earlier, new footage emerged showing a car being driven into the crowd as panicked fans watched in horror and tried to avoid being hit.
The CCTV footage showed supporters attempting to move out of the way as the vehicle ploughed into supporters.
Cries could be heard from the crowd – before police and members of the public chased after the car.
In an update on Wednesday, Merseyside Police said it was in contact with 79 people who were injured in the crash – an increase on the 65 people who were confirmed injured in the force’s previous update.
Seven people remain in hospital in a stable condition following the collision, the force added.
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Moment car drives into crowds in Liverpool
Detective Superintendent Rachel Wilson said: “I’m pleased to say that the number of people in hospital is reducing as they continue to recover from the awful incident.
“We continue to support those still receiving treatment and as part of our ongoing enquiries we are identifying more people who were injured.
“I want to reassure the public of Merseyside that detectives are making significant progress as we seek to establish the full circumstances that led to what happened.”
Image: Water Street where the collision happened has reopened. Pic: Reuters
Image: Pic: Reuters
DS Wilson said that “extensive CCTV enquiries” were being carried out across Liverpool to “establish the movements of the car, a Ford Galaxy, before the incident took place”.
She added: “We have already had an incredible response from many of those who were there on the day, and I thank them for their co-operation with our investigation.
“I would encourage anyone who has not yet contacted police who may have information on this incident to do so.
“An extensive investigation into the precise circumstances of the incident is ongoing, and we continue to ask people not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding the incident and refrain from sharing distressing content online.”
Image: Emergency service on Water Street after the collision. Pic: Reuters
It comes after Water Street was reopened to vehicles and pedestrians on Wednesday after the police cordon was lifted.
Street cleaning teams worked overnight to clear the road, which had been littered with bottles, cans and football scarves and flags.
One remaining Liverpool flag was removed from the top of a set of traffic lights by a worker wearing hi-vis.
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On Tuesday night, Liverpool manager Arne Slot decided not to attend the League Managers Association’s annual awards ceremony “in solidarity with those affected by the incident on Monday”.
Meanwhile, speaking at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said the collision on Water Street “showed the two faces of life”.
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Klopp sends ‘thoughts and prayers’ to victims
He said: “The most beautiful face for a long, long time: the parade was incredible, the mood was incredible and from one second to another everything changed and we learned again there are more serious things in the world than football.
“Thoughts and prayers go to the injured people and their families as well.
“It should have been one of the greatest days in the history of the city, after a long, long time, because we didn’t have the opportunity to do it last time. I don’t know how and why it happened but we know what happened and that’s very bad.”