Milan, 6 June (LaPresse) – He was reportedly ready to flee in a ‘coach’, which is why a second man has been arrested for illegal hiring in the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office investigation into the exploitation of Indian labourers paid €2 an hour at the construction site of the new US Consulate, built by Caddell Construction, in Piazzale Accursio in the Lombard capital. During the night between Friday and Saturday, Public Prosecutor Paolo Storari ordered the arrest of Aji Appukuttan, the 51-year-old Indian man who, in the testimonies of migrant workers gathered by the Carabinieri’s Labour Inspectorate Unit, is described as the “watchdog” of the American construction multinational and is regarded by investigators as the “operational caporale” and the intermediary in the “exploitation” scheme uncovered on the New Delhi-Milan axis. He is accused of forcing at least 50 workers to open a bank account in Italy, by making them sign documents in a language they did not understand, from which €500 per month would be automatically deducted from their pay packets to cover accommodation at the Residence le Groane and Residence Ripamonti, intended for immigrants who had arrived in Italy under the international intra-company secondment scheme, which actually requires the provision of board and lodging for workers employed abroad.
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