Hinduja Group is an Indian transnational conglomerate with a presence in eleven sectors. Some notable sectors include automotive, banking, oil and specialised chemicals, healthcare, infrastructure, trading, IT, cyber security, and many more. The 110-year-old group is one of the wealthiest conglomerates in the world. As per the official website of Hinduja Group, it employs over 200,000 people in its offices across the world. For the uninitiated, the Hinduja clan is the richest family in the UK.
As per multiple reports, the Hinduja family has an estimated wealth of Rs. 1.7 lakh crore. Talking about some of the most common companies that are associated with the global conglomerate include the likes of Hinduja Housing Finance, Hinduja Renewables, Cyqurex, Indusland Bank, Ashok Leyland Limited, Gulf Oil, Indusland Media, Hinduja Healthcare, Nxt Digital, and the list goes on.
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On June 21, 2024, shocking news from Switzerland about the UK's richest family, the Hinduja clan, made its way into international media, which left Indians absolutely shocked. As per the Swiss Court, four members of the Hinduja family, Prakash Hinduja, his wife, Kamal Hinduja, his son, Ajay Hinduja and his daughter-in-law, Namrata Hinduja have been sentenced to jail. Not only this, the Hinduja family's business manager, Najib Ziazi was also convicted in the case and was handed an 18-month suspended sentence by the Swiss Court.
As per the international media reports, the Swiss Court found four members of the Hinduja family guilty of exploiting their domestic workers. The affluent family provided unauthorised employment to their workers, which is considered a serious crime. Not only this, but the Hinduja family was also accused of seizing the passports of their workers, forcing them to work long hours, and preventing them from leaving their villa.
As per a report in the Business Standard, the Hinduja family was also accused of human trafficking, but the court ruled out the severe charges against them. Each member of the Hinduja family is sentenced to prison for 4.5 years for exploiting their domestic workers. It will be interesting to see what will happen next in the high-profile case that has shocked both the UK and India, courtesy of the Hinduja family's connections to both countries.
The Swiss Court stated that the staff agreed to the job and knew what they were doing. All four members of the Hinduja family, Prakash Hinduja, Kamal Hinduja, Ajay Hinduja, and Namrata Hinduja, are also accused of paying their domestic workers in Indian rupees instead of Swiss Francs. According to the report, the Hinduja family's staff worked up to 18 hours a day on a mere wage of just Rs. 654 per day.
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Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja was the man, who laid the foundation of Hinduja Group back in 1914. Being born into a Sindhi family, right from an early age, Parmanand Hinduja knew that business was something that he wanted to do for the rest of his life. At the mere age of 14, he started a commodity trading business. From carpets, saffron, and dried fruits to tea and spices, Parmanand Hinduja set up an office in Iran. In the following years, he built a business around merchant banking and trading.
In 1971, Parmanand passed away, and it was his son, Srichand P. Hinduja, who took command of the Hinduja Group. It was he who spread the business from Iran to London. In the following years, Hinduja Group acquired a series of businesses and took it to a completely different level. Soon, the other three brothers, Gopichand P. Hinduja, Prakash P. Hinduja, and Ashok P. Hinduja joined the Hinduja Group and scaled it worldwide. Hinduja Group became a leading force in the international market by acquiring banks, institutions, companies, and a series of small groups.
Everything was going fine between the Hinduja brothers until 2016 when cracks started appearing in their family. It was Srichand P Hinduja, who insisted that the 2014 agreement held no relevance. He also added that the family's assets should be separated. Not only this, in 2018, the brothers once again locked horns with each other for the Switzerland-headquartered Hinduja Bank.
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In the following year, Srichand P. Hinduja went to London's Business and Property Court to discuss the issues of their family wealth. Despite all the differences between them on the matter of their wealth, the Hinduja brothers made sure not to let it affect the performance of their business ventures. The four released an official statement in public on their ongoing dispute. An excerpt from their statement can be read as:
"We would also stress that this litigation will not have any impact on our global businesses, which will continue to function as they have been."
For the uninitiated, Srichand P. Hinduja passed away on May 17, 2023, due to Lewy body dementia. After his death, a lot of things changed in the Hinduja family. There's no denying the fact that Ashok P. Hinduja's legal case has brought the Hinduja family right into the spotlight. It will be interesting to see how the three brothers, Gopichand P. Hinduja, Prakash P. Hinduja, and Ashok P. Hinduja will take the legal case related to their family wealth ahead.
What are your thoughts on the rise and downfall of the Hinduja Group? Let us know.
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