The Hindujas, a UK-based business family of Indian origin, have made top headlines for the wrong reasons once again. This time four members of UK's wealthiest family were sentenced to prison by a Swiss court for exploiting Indian staff illegally brought to work at their Geneva villa.
Prakash and Kamal Hinduja, their son Ajay and his wife Namrata were sentenced to four to four-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of exploitation and illegal employment. The court, however, acquitted them of human trafficking charges.
This is not the first time that the business family has been mired in controversies. Here is a brief history of the family and their business before we dive into the controversies.
A history of Hinduja Group
The patriarch of the Hinduja family, Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja, began his business journey by trading in Shikarpur, a town in Sindh region during the British era. In 1914, when the First World War broke out, he shifted his banking and trade ventures to Bombay. In 1919, he set up the company's first international operation in Iran.
In 1935, his eldest son, Srichand P. Hinduja aka SP Hinduja, took over the business. The Group continued to be based in Iran until The Islamic Revolution forced them to move the headquarters to London in 1979. Srichand, the Group Chairman, and his brother, Gopichand, the co-chairman, moved to London the same year. Prakash, the third brother, looked after the Switzerland operations from Geneva and the youngest, Ashok, helmed the India business.
After Srichand's death in May 2023, his brother, Gopichand, took over as the chairman.
Today, Hinduja Group, which employs two lakh people, has presence in at least 11 sectors including automotive, banking, oil and specialty chemicals, IT, cyber security, healthcare, infrastructure development, media and entertainment, real estate and power.
The companies under the Group includes Ashok Leyland, IndusInd Bank, Hinduja Bank (Switzerland), Hinduja Housing Finance, Hinduja Healthcare, Hinduja Leyland Finance, Hinduja Global Solutions, Hinduja Tech, GOCL Corporation, Gulf Oil International, Gulf Oil Lubricants India Limited, Gulf Oil Middle East, Hinduja National Power Corporation, Hinduja Renewables Energy Pvt Ltd, Hinduja Realty Ventures, Hinduja Group India, NXTDIGITAL Ltd, Cyqurex Systems Pvt Ltd, British Metal Corporation (India) Pvt Ltd and Hinduja Investments and Project Services.
Now let's dive into the controversies that have tarnished the image of the business family in India and abroad.
Bofors scandal and Hinduja family
The three elder Hinduja brothers -- Srichand, Gopichand and Prakash -- were linked to the probe into a scandal wherein the Swiss firm Bofors allegedly bribed government officials and politicians over a defence deal. In October 2000, the CBI slapped the three brothers with a chargesheet over taking commission from Bofors to seal a deal to procure howitzers for India. However, the Delhi High Court in 2005 quashed the case of insufficient evidence
UK citizenship row
UK Minister Peter Mandelson was forced to resign over scandal nicknamed "the Hinduja affair" amid rumours that he helped Srichand win British citizenship. Mandelson allegedly helped him obtain a British passport in return for a £1 million donation to London's Millennium Dome in 1998 from Srichand, Gopichand and Prakash. Subsequently, Srichand, Gopichand, Prakash and Ashok became UK citizens.