Volkswagen has been convicted in Brazil to pay a millions for slave-like work on an Amazon farm during the military dictatorship.
According to the first instance judgment in the 1970s and 1980s, the carmaker’s Brazilian subsidiary is said to have benefited from the illegal exploitation of the labor, as the public prosecutor’s office announced. VW announced an appeal.
The Labor Court of Speechçao in the northern state of Pará in the Amazon region ordered compensation of 165 million Reais (around 26 million euros). According to the public prosecutor, this is the highest fine in Brazil for modern slave work. Volkswagen should also apologize to those affected.
In a statement, Volkswagen Do Brasil announced that he was defending his defense before higher court authorities. “With a 72 -year tradition, the company consistently adheres to the principles of human dignity and strictly adheres to all applicable labor laws and regulations,” said the company.
Slave work was documented by a priest
The allegations refer to the conditions at the Agricultural Fazenda Vale do Rio Cristalino, which belonged to a subsidiary of Volkswagen do Brasil. The cattle company was founded as part of a national strategy for developing and settlement of the Amazon area with the promotion of the military dictatorship and tax advantages.
The investigation began in 2019, after the priest Ricardo Rezende, the then regional coordinator of the Commission of the Land pastoral, had documented the case. In 2023 an out -of -court settlement failed. The company was then finally sued in December 2024.
According to the allegations, hundreds of temporary agency workers were exposed to the FAZENDA Volkswagen long working days and humiliating working conditions. According to the investigators, armed guards and a system of guilt bonding prevented the workers on leaving the farm.
/ASO/DP/ZB
Rio de Janeiro (dpa-Afx)
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