Prison sentences in Geneva

Billionaires exploited domestic workers so brutally

Four very rich members of a family have been sentenced to several years in prison in Switzerland for exploiting domestic workers. They allegedly treated their helpers badly for years and paid them very little.

Not everything was as nice as it seemed in the pretty villa in Cologny near Geneva. According to the public prosecutor's office, the domestic staff had to slave away for the meagre wage of less than one euro per hour.

Like the well-known wealthy family, the employees came from India. Several of the domestic workers could neither read nor write. According to the judges, the family took advantage of their situation.

Commercial usury
The guilty verdict was for commercial usury. The four defendants were acquitted of the charge of human trafficking by the criminal court. The parents were each sentenced to four and a half years in prison, the daughter-in-law and the son to four years.

As was announced last week, the family had reached an out-of-court settlement with the employees in the meantime. Nevertheless, the proceedings continued because the allegation of usury was pursued independently of the plaintiffs.

The verdict is not final and the convicted parties can appeal. They were not in court when the verdict was announced. Their lawyers had denied the allegations. They announced after the verdict that they would appeal.