Italian prosecutors have accused a contractor building a new US consulate in Milan of paying Indian workers well below the national poverty line for 60 hours of "harsh" work weekly.
Prosecutors in a decree seen by AFP on Friday said they were appointing an administrator to work with Caddell Construction to normalise working conditions at the $200 million project.
Based in Alabama, the construction firm Caddell has built numerous US embassies and consulates around the world.
The decree said 35 labourers recruited in India were earning less than €5 an hour before compulsory deductions for board and lodging.
The Milan prosecutors said workers' testimonies pointed to "a recurring criminal scheme".
