A billionaire is on his way to prison due to his company's mishandling of asbestos over two decades ago.
Stephan Schmidheiny is the man facing 16 years in prison after being convicted of negligence in a civil action lawsuit that has been ongoing since 2009. His company, Eternit fiber, went bankrupt in 1986. But before that it dealt heavily in asbestos and allowed asbestos particles to spread across northern Italy due by not following safety precautions. In total, some 2,000 deaths have been caused so far by the actions of Eternit, split between workers at Eternit plants and the general public.
The asbestos particles were leftovers from roof coverings and pipe production. Rather than being contained, it was left to be carried away by the wind and to surrounding populated areas.
As well as the prison term, Schmidheiny is going to have to pay each civil party 30,000 euros, which could amount to millions in total due to the 6,000 people involved in the court case.
Schmidheiny isn't the only man facing a long prison term. Major shareholder Baron Jean-Louis Marie Ghislain de Cartier de Marchienne is facing the same 16 year term. Their crime's maximum punishment was actually 12 years, but the prosecution asked for 20 due to the fact asbestos related diseases can present a couple of decades after exposure occurs. In the end, 16 years is what each man will face, and they could both end their days in prison. Schmidheiny is 64, and Marchienne is 90 years old.
Source: Medical Daily and BBC News
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