Swiss billionaire jailed over asbestos-related deaths in Italian town

Stephan Schmidheiny found guilty of causing deaths of 392 people in Casale Monferrato in Piedmont

A Swiss billionaire has been sentenced to 12 years in jail on aggravated manslaughter charges connected to the deaths of hundreds of people due to asbestos exposure, in what has been hailed as the most significant trial in Italy over workplace deaths.

Stephan Schmidheiny, an industrialist and former main shareholder in the cement production company Eternit Italia, was sentenced by a court in Novara after being found guilty of causing the death of 392 people in Casale Monferrato, the Piedmont town that until 1986 was home to the largest of Eternit Italia’s six factories.