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Britain's richest family spent more money on their pet dog than on one of their servants, a Swiss court has heard. Prosecutors have called for the billionaire Hinduja family to face prison sentences on charges of human trafficking and exploitation of staff at their villa on Lake Geneva.

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Speaking at a hearing in Geneva's criminal court on Monday, prosecutor Yves Bertossa said: "They spent more money on a dog than on a servant."

Bertossa claimed that one woman was paid just seven Swiss francs (£6.19) to work up to 18 hours a day, seven days a week, Bloomberg reported. Meanwhile, he cited a budget document entitled “Pets”, which he said showed how the family spent 8,584 Swiss francs a year on their family dog.

Staff contracts were said to include no reference to specific hours or days of work, and prosecutors suggested employees should be available at any time on request.

Bertossa said the employees had no freedom while working for the family, saying their passports were confiscated and they were not allowed to leave the house without their employer's permission.Hindus reject claims that servants were mistreated.

Lawyers for the Hinduja family rejected the claims, citing testimony from servants who said they had been treated with dignity and respect. 

They also accused prosecutors of providing a misleading picture of the workers' salaries.

Yael Hayat, a lawyer for descendants of the Ajay Hinduja family, said salaries alone do not accurately reflect staff wages because they are also provided with food and shelter. 

He added that the idea of ​​an 18-hour day is excessive.

Ms Hayat said: “When they sit down to watch a film with the children, can that be considered work? I do not think so."The lawyer argued that one of the staff members said his salary in Geneva was better than what he earned in India, adding that he continued to return to work of his own accord.

Ms Hayat said that while there may be a temptation to “destroy the rich to make the poor poorer”, the Geneva prosecutor's office confused fairness with social justice.

The Hinduja family is Britain's richest. with a net worth of more than £37 billion, according to The Sunday Times rich list.

Through the Hinduja Group conglomerate, they control businesses in nearly a dozen sectors, from finance and IT to infrastructure.

They also own prime real estate in London, including the Raffles Hotel at the Old War Office in Whitehall, with top suites priced at £25,000 per night. Since the death of family patriarch SP Hinduja last year, the kingdom has been led by his brother Gopi.

The Swiss lawsuit has been filed against four family members, including 78-year-old Prakash Hinduja, his wife Kamal, their son Ajay and his wife Namrata. During the trial, Ajay admitted that he did not know the details of the employees' working conditions because recruitment was handled by the Hinduja Group in India. 

However, he said that staff were no longer paid informally and all recruitment was done locally through third parties. Prakash and Kamal did not attend the hearing in Geneva due to health reasons.

Bertossa accused the pair of contempt of court, as they traveled freely between Dubai and Cannes. Prosecutors pushed for prison sentences for Hindus He called for a prison sentence of five and a half years for Prakash and Kamal and four and a half years for Ajay and Namrata.

Prosecutors also demanded that the family cover 1 million Swiss francs in court costs and pay 3.5 million Swiss francs to a staff compensation fund. The Hinduja family and its staff last week reached a settlement in a civil case over worker exploitation, first filed six years ago. 

However, the criminal case is still continuing this week. Romain Jordan, lawyer for the Hinduja family, said: “These charges are excessive because they are apart from the legal and factual elements of the case. 

The prosecutor's insults demonstrated unacceptable bias, and no other family was treated this way. “Our clients remain determined to defend themselves and have confidence in the justice system.”

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