The fate of the UK’s richest family hangs in the balance

Four members of Britain’s richest family, known as the Hindujas, who have been accused of human trafficking and exploiting staff at their Geneva mansion, will have their fate decided in a Swiss court on Friday.

Prosecutors said the Hindus, whose fortune is estimated at 37 billion pounds ($47 billion) Sunday Timesthey spent more money on their dog than on their servants.

The charges stem from the family’s practice of importing servants from their native India. A decision is expected at 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT).

Prakash and Kamal Hinduja, along with their son Ajay and his wife Namrata, are accused of confiscating the passports of their employees when they were taken to Switzerland.

Prosecutors allege the Hindujas paid their staff a pittance and gave the servants little freedom to leave the house.

The family denies the allegations, arguing that prosecutors wanted to “get it on the Hindus”.

The Hindujas ended up in a confidential out-of-court settlement with the three employees who made the accusations against them.

Despite this, the prosecution decided to continue the case due to the gravity of the charges.

Geneva’s first public prosecutor, Yves Bertosa, requested a five-and-a-half-year prison sentence for Prakas and Kamal Hinduja.

Aged 78 and 75 respectively, both were absent from the start of the trial for health reasons.

In his closing speech, the prosecutor accused the family of abusing the “asymmetrical situation” between a powerful employer and a vulnerable worker to save money.

Household staff were paid between 220-400 francs ($250-450) a month, far below what they would expect to earn in Switzerland.

“They are profiting from the misery of the world,” Bertosa told the court.

The defense argued that prosecutors were overreacting

But defense lawyers for the Hinduja family argued that the three plaintiffs received ample benefits, were not held in solitary confinement and were free to leave the villa.

“We are not dealing with abused slaves,” Nicolas Jeandin told the court.

Indeed, the workers “were grateful to the Hindus for offering them a better life,” argued fellow lawyer Robert Asael.

Representing Ajay Hinduja, lawyer Yael Hayat criticized the “excessive” indictment, arguing that the trial should be a matter of “justice, not social justice”.

Namrata’s wife’s lawyer, Romain Jordan, also called for an acquittal, arguing that prosecutors aimed to make an example of the family.

He argued that the prosecution had failed to report payments made to staff beyond their cash wages.

“No employee was cheated out of their salary,” Assael added.

Some staff even asked for raises, which they received.

With interests in oil and gas, banking and healthcare, the Hinduja Group is present in 38 countries and employs around 200,000 people.