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Members of Britain’s richest family get jail terms for exploiting Indian staff at Swiss mansion | The Straits Times

Members of Britain’s richest family get jail terms for exploiting Indian staff at Swiss mansion

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/members-of-britains-richest-family-get-jail-terms-for-exploiting-indian-staff-at-switzerland-mansion

Prosecutors said the Hinduja family paid staff a pittance and gave them little freedom to leave the house. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Members of Britain’s richest family get jail terms for exploiting Indian staff at Swiss mansion

62 comments

SkunkWorkz

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Many rich Indians in the west still treat people of lower castes like this. Even the “liberal” ones. Like in Silicon Valley there are Indians from higher castes who try to uphold the caste system and they look down on their Indian colleagues who were born in a lower caste. Even when the person of lower caste has a higher position in the company.

And Switzerland can you also go after the rich Arabs who have Filipino slaves in their mansions in Europe.

raman_klogius

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almost like the caste system was an artificial social construct invented by the elites to ensure they stay on top

uis

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Shocking, right?

nautilus

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I wonder how many people know that the CEO of Google participates in the caste system

can

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Can you elaborate?

thesporkeffect

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My opinion of him hit a negative buffer overflow when I learned he came from McKinsey, I would have been skeptical to learn he wasn't classist

sunzu

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They will try to behave like that with others too, can't let shit like that slide. Got to educate them ;)

Neon

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can you also go after the rich Arabs who have Filipino slaves in their mansions in Europe

maybe. If the Filipinos are in Switzerland. If there is a assumption of breach of basic human rights we can also go after them if the Filipinos are not in switzerland.

But we would first need proof or at least reasonable suspicion that something is happening so we can start a investigation and get a search warrant.

uis

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Proof of suspicion in many jurysdictions is only needed for search warrant. There are things they can do without it. Like request from water company how much water is used when no people supposed to be there.

Blooper

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Okay, but could maybe you just go after the rich? For boo other reason than being rich? Because, in my experience , rich people tend to suck and that seems reason enough to investigate. Please?

Pls Switzerland?

Neon

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pretty sure that would be a massive breach of the Rechtsstaat(law state? rule-based state? constitutional state?) and even basic human rights.

So no. Selective application of Rights is a really bad idea. That's how you get fascism.

Peter1986C

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I think that rechtstaat/Rechtsstaat (both the German and Dutch variety of the word) are supposed to be translated into English as "rule of law". But I could be wrong.

sandbox

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fascism is when you ignore rights of rich people

talyzaga

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Even the “liberal” ones

Even?

FiniteBanjo

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It seems a little reductive/whataboutist to bring that up in the conversation about rich british assholes, though?

dependencyinjection

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I’m shocked, but happy, that they actually got jail time.

4.5 years for the parents and 4 years for the son and his wife respectively. I think jail time for people like this is the only way we can make sure they don’t do it again, a fine is no use when you’re richer than god.

Neon

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you really shouldn't be shocked. We are one of the few countries that actually doesn't fuck around.

Idk if it's because our neutrality makes us feel morally superior, because our Neutrality makes us feel invincible, because we are so rich we can afford to be moral or just because, and that's my favourite theory, the germanic honor-culture has survived here and we value doing the right/honorable thing more than anything else.

Either way: If you wanna commit crimes, please don't commit them here. Prison Accommodations are expensive and paid by our taxes.

dependencyinjection

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Thanks for sharing.

Although, I abhor your countries neutrality. Take WWII for instance, being neutral kind of says yeah we are cool with both sides.

Also, your banking laws are a cancer on the rest of the world, but I shouldn’t throw stones from my glass house in the UK since we are also very good at offshoring money for deplorable people.

I will say I am fond of your progressive policies on terms of drug use and help for those that want it.

ChickenLadyLovesLife

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Take WWII for instance, being neutral kind of says yeah we are cool with both sides.

Being literally surrounded by the Third Reich meant their choices were neutrality or actually joining up with Hitler, so they really can't be criticized for choosing neutrality. They can be criticized for their actions during and after the war in helping the Nazi leaders squirrel away the wealth they stole from the Jews, something that was not necessary for a neutral nation to do.

I'd rather rip on Sweden which at least had some possibility of joining the Allies but instead supplied Germany with the high-quality iron ore they absolutely needed to keep their war machine running - the exact same thing they did in WWI. They also supplied Germany with much-needed ball bearings, but at least they sold them to the Allies as well.

Neon

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They can be criticized for their actions during and after the war in helping the Nazi leaders squirrel away the wealth they stole from the Jews, something that was not necessary for a neutral nation to do.

It actually was kinda necessary. We were strategically very important as the Gotthardtunnel was the main Link between the Germans and the Italians, the two main Allies. So we had to offer them something that was even more valuable than conquering the Gotthardtunnel. We concluded that the opportunity to turn their "spoils of war" into Money was the one thing that was more valuable to them.

I would also like to break a lance for my Swedish compatriots. The Nazis conquered Norway and Denmark in a few weeks because they were positioned strategically along the trade routes. If Sweden stopped exporting the Iron, it was very obvious, that the Nazis would invade Sweden for the Iron if they ever stopped exporting it.

And: Sweden did cooperate with allied intelligence during the war. So there's that. And before someone comes in: While Switzerland didn't directly cooperate with allied intelligence, we did willfully turn a blind eye to them. Tacit cooperation if you want so.

Blooper

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Side note - I can't wait for AI to fix autocorrect. Shirts getting old

dependencyinjection

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I just noticed some of the typos in my comment.

I hate iPhone predicative text changing my words and offering silly suggestions.

ChickenLadyLovesLife

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Nothing drives me as crazy as my phone constantly putting in "thus" instead of "this". Nobody fucking ever uses the word "thus" in a text message.

barsoap

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the germanic honor-culture has survived here and we value doing the right/honorable thing more than anything else.

If you were the Swedish kind of neutral I'd accept that, but you're the Swiss kind of neutral. You may have stopped selling weapons to both sides of a conflict, you may have even stopped providing offshore accounts for both sides of the conflict, but the overall attitude of "eh it's not in Switzerland it doesn't matter" is still around. Heck, you still harbour Nestle. At least you had the sense to go after Steinmetz, though.

Melvin_Ferd

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Swiss gotta eat!

Apollo42

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the germanic honor-culture has survived here and we value doing the right/honorable thing more than anything else

Hahaha

[Except ](http://www.the.com/ germanic honor-culture has survived here and we value doing the right/honorable thing more than anything else) for when they didn't

ours

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And let us not forget https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/life-aging/historian-reveals-tragedy-of-swiss-child-trade/3791220.

Apollo42

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Ah, the fine germanic honour culture at work!

Belastend

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that's my favourite theory, the germanic honor-culture has survived here and we value doing the right/honorable thing more than anything else.

i gotta take one look at your banking laws and who is banking in Switzerland to laugh that one out of the room.

Aceticon

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It's my impression that at least in the German-speaking cantoons the Swiss are the most "rules are rules are rules" of the German-speaking people.

Had this happened in Britain, it would've been swept under the rug since over there de facto and probably since forever, the rules apply very differently depending on the "importance" of people. (In fact I wouldn't at all be surprised if this was also happening in Britain and in there it was simply swept under the rug).

I don't think "rules are rules are rules" is a generic "honor" thing, rather it's the more specific norms of "social responsibility" (i.e. responsibility towards others).

Blackmist

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Will they serve it though? They weren't even present at the sentencing due to "poor health".

Treczoks

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Will they serve it though?

There is a thing called "international arrest warrant". Of course they are rich enough to hide somewhere where the Swiss have no contract with, but I don't think they would enjoy that...

Buffalox

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Putting the filthy in filthy rich.

solrize

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Saw reddit thread about this. Apparently the jail sentence is all but symbolic, since the defendants are currently outside Switzerland. As long as they don't go back, they will never see the inside of a jail.

funkless_eck

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sucks we won't see it happen but also delightful they have a mansion they can't use

SuddenDownpour

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Can they sell the mansion from abroad?

mojofrododojo

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it's switzerland, I imagine they can sell it to abroad or adude

ShareMySims

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While them getting a jail sentence is good, the term is a joke, especially since they're not likely to actually serve it all or even any of it (house arrest, time served, "good behaviour", bribes, they aren't short of ways nor money to get around it), and are probably the most likely to re-offend out of anyone who has ever stepped foot in a jail..

I would be much more excited if they were made to pay their earnings for the duration that they kept slaves, to the people they enslaved (never mind all the other people they have and continue to exploit to get to be the richest people), and were then kept under constant supervision to make sure they don't start doing it again as soon as they possibly can. (I am well aware this will unfortunately never happen)

ours

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Bribes aren't exactly a thing in Switzerland. I'm not saying there isn't corruption but it's not common.

That said they have to pay nearly a million dollars to the victims.

ShareMySims

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Bribes aren’t exactly a thing in Switzerland. I’m not saying there isn’t corruption but it’s not common.

Ba ha hahahaha... Thanks, I needed a good laugh...

Having you, a random citizen think there are no bribes and little corruption (I can't even type it without laughing) doesn't mean there aren't any.

Switzerland, the country that claims "neutrality" but acts as the world's best known financial, and physical, haven for not only the "anonymous" filthy rich like this family (who still have more influence on society as a whole than you can imagine), but actual dictators and war criminals, past and present, too IS corruption, in its entire essence. Its economical and political existence relies heavily on some of if not the dirtiest and most ill gotten money on the planet (the least dirty of which comes from wage theft on a global scale). Being discreet and polite about bribes and corruption is why. Maintaining favour with the evil people whose assets they protect will always be prioritised over anything else, including their local population (who are generally happy to look the other way as long as the dirty money keeps them in a relatively high standard of living, which is why they are kept in a relatively high standard of living), never mind the poor and or enslaved people overseas who are the ones actually paying the price.

That said they have to pay nearly a million dollars to the victims.

That IS a bribe, they're literally throwing pocket change at the problem to make it go away. Going on their net worth of $70.8b, if they spent a whole million dollars a day, they wouldn't notice it missing for nearly 200 years. And I say again - 4 of those years are categorically not going to be spent in prison, because they are never going to serve their entire sentence (and whatever part they might serve will undoubtedly be in greater comfort than they ever provided to those they enslave, and I deliberately use present tense because this isn't going to stop them), which was already a corrupt and pathetic slap on the wrist to begin with.

This isn't how you stop the filthy rich from enslaving people, this is how you put on a show for the poors to pretend to care while you continue to enable the exploiters and oppressors, because your government and economy depend on it (and because all of those "corruption scores" you see out there are based on perception, not fact).

And you're buying the act.

treefrog

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They're giving the royal family jail time?

dependencyinjection

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The royal family are not the richest. Sure they have assets but most of it they can’t really sell.

They’re scroungers and I hope one day we oust them. How can we bang on about equality whilst holding parasites on a pedestal.

AshMan85

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had the same thought when i read it

sunzu

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One day!

bizarrocullen

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You remember when a international crisis happened after the Swiss police apprehended Gaddafi's son when he beat hotel staff?

ours

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Gaddafi called for Switzerland to be split between its neighbors.

Who has the last laugh now? Don't need with the Swiss and their dark, devious ways

Ensign_Crab

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TIL there are richer Britons than the Windsors.

geophysicist

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The Windsors hide behind a technicality. The crown corporation is rich, not the family.

Kaboom

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These guys are Indians, not Britons. I think you meant Brits.

palordrolap

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"Briton" is generally used as the noun form of "British", so when "Brit" is used as a noun - which is most of the time - it's abbreviating "Briton".

As for who gets to be called "Briton": In the loosest sense, anyone with residence in Britain can be counted as British when they're here, whether or not they're considered ethnically British (by themselves or others).

Bear in mind that "Briton" originally mean "an inhabitant of the British Isles before any of the Romans, or various flavours of Germanics turned up". There's been quite a bit of admixture since then. It makes sense - to the chagrin of the Welsh, no doubt - that the term has mutated a bit over the centuries.

Aceticon

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Residence does not suffice: you're a Briton if you have British nationality (no matter of which of the 4 nations) so people have to apply for British nationality after at least a certain time as resident (5 years for Indians and a few other nationals, 10 for most foreigners) plus there are other mechanisms to get British nationality (for example, for descendants - resident or otherwise - of people born in Northern Ireland).

I lived for over a decade in Britain as an EU citizen but I'm not and never was a Briton since I never applied for British nationality.

palordrolap

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Maybe not in any legal sense, no. How people and even news media use it, there's plenty of wiggle room.

e.g. allowing the ambiguity of "British home owner" to go unclarified, that is as "home owner who is British" as opposed to "owner of a home in Britain", and any similarly loose interpretations that go along with or derive from that.

Aceticon

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I don't remember ever hearing "Brit" or "Brits" being used for immigrants in Britain and definitelly heard it used for when Britons are living abroad as immigrants (in fact when living in The Netherlands I had some colleagues who were in their own words "Brits")..

Always thought it was just another way of saying British and not going into the specifics of which nation in Britain did people come from (the whole "nations" thing for people abroad is generally irrelevant or even misunderstood).

HamsterRage

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I always thought of "Briton" in that last sense, while "Brit" has the meaning of anyone living in the UK (almost). But that's from an outsider's perspective.

As my English cousin corrected me, though, "I'm English, 'British' could be anything!". She wasn't, of course, talking about the difference between English and Welsh, or Scots.

palordrolap

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Pity the person of Scottish (or Welsh) ancestry born in England who has to choose what they are on some forms, especially legal ones.

But then, there are worse problems to have.

cupcakezealot

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britains wealthy elite exploiting indians? tale as old as time

loutr

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The "wealthy elite" in this case are Indian. Goes on to show that it's not a matter of race/origin but of class, the sooner we collectively realize this the better off we'll be.

KevonLooney

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It's both. Trying to erase actual issues people care about (race / gender / culture / sexual orientation) doesn't work. You can't just say "don't worry about it". Not all struggle is class struggle. People actually care about their culture.

loutr

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Not trying to erase anything, I just think it's the main issue we're facing right now, and that we'd be better off on many of these other issues if we did something about that one.

KevonLooney

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That's what someone who doesn't care about race, gender, etc. would say. You may not care because none of those affect you negatively.

uis

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Fuck em! Rich family, I mean. Not indians.

veni_vedi_veni

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Some of them even got raises

Let em go. Clearly role model employers

mojofrododojo

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will they actually serve jail time though?

answersplease77

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Are they from Indian decent? Let me just say this problem is much more rampant than 1 incident. I personally have encountered these and made a complaint about them but nothing came out of it and no justice was done. I have also met with victims who told me about their stories and how they have been working for free for rich scamming Indian families in Britian. Nothing happened about it as far as I know.