A Geneva court fined Indian industrialist Prakash Hinduja 157 million Swiss francs (Rs 1,270 crore) for tax evasion.
As per Swiss newspapers Gotham City and Le Temps, Hinduja was fined by the Geneva Court for claiming tax exemptions by claiming Monaco residency while actually residing in Geneva.
Report of Gotham City, “the Geneva tax authorities suspect billionaire of Indian origin Prakash Hinduja of staying in his villa in Cologny (GE) until April 2018, when he had officially settled in Monaco in 2007.”
Federal Court decision issued on April 21 (5A 1042/2020), in July 2018, the Geneva public prosecutor sought information on Prakash Hinduja and members of his family on behalf of cantonal tax authorities in the context of criminal proceedings.
According to a report issued on Sunday (February 7), Ajay was the topic of a criminal attempt in a Geneva district court 2019 on a charge of trying to forge a file at a bank. The Swiss prosecutor believed there was enough evidence to charge Ajay Hinduja, who has denied the allegations. The Geneva prosecutor’s office verified that he had filed a challenge, and that the case was scheduled to be brought to trial but was postponed due to Covid.
Tax Evasion Caused Havoc
For the past two years, the four Hinduja brothers —- Sirichand P Hinduja, Gopichand Hinduja, Prakash P Hinduja, and Ashok P Hinduja —- have fought over the transfer of shares to the next generation. Ashok Hinduja and Prakash Hinduja’s son Ajay are facing legal troubles in Mauritius and Geneva courts, owing primarily to family feuds.
Sirichand and Gopichand are dissatisfied with the way the operations of the companies around world are being handled.
The family squabbles began in November 2020, when Ajay ran for re-election as a Director in the Annual General Meeting of the Mauritius-based company IndusInd International Holdings Ltd, or IIHL. The board was chaired by his uncle, Ashok Hinduja, who lives in India. Other elder brothers have made their homes in London and Switzerland.
