Helsinki police have arrested a foreign national operating a beauty company who is accused of engaging in human trafficking, luring workers from abroad, and refusing to pay them their promised wages.
The foreign beauty entrepreneur is suspected of human trafficking, tax fraud, and extortionate employment discrimination and has been under investigation by a regional human trafficking team within the police for crimes committed within the last year.
According to investigators, the man is suspected of luring workers from his home country, promising them 1,900 euros a month, employing them illegally after they entered Finland on tourist visas. All of the employees are believed to have worked for the man for under a year, in some cases only a few months, broadcaster Yle reports.
Head of the investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Nils Majewski, commented on the investigation saying, “The police suspect that the entrepreneur has promised to pay wages for the work done later, when the injured parties would have received work permits, but by the beginning of the pre-trial investigation, no wages had been paid.”
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The employees are also said to have lived in the same residence as the entrepreneur and paid around 250 euros per month, which was deducted from their wages by the man and they were forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor. Police also allege the man removed purchases from the company POS system and took the cash for himself.
Human trafficking and modern-day slavery remain a major issue in many countries across Europe, including the UK where one think tank reported in 2020 that there may be as many as 100,000 modern-day slaves working in Britain, 10,000 in the city of Leicester alone.
It was also alleged that police in the UK ignored reports of sweatshops and exploitation of migrant workers in the British fashion industry over fears they may be labelled racist.
Last year, France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) accused several fashion brands of using slave labour in the Xinjiang province of China, accusing the corporations of being complicit in”crimes against humanity.”
Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.
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