RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: Brazil has placed Chinese automaker BYD on a government registry of employers linked to slavery-like labor conditions, escalating scrutiny months after a high-profile worker abuse scandal at one of its projects.

The listing, published by Brazil's Labor Ministry, follows a 2024 investigation involving Chinese workers hired to build the company's factory in Bahia. Authorities said the workers were subjected to abusive contracts and conditions resembling human trafficking.

Inclusion on the registry, commonly referred to as a "list of shame", increases reputational risks for BYD in Brazil, its largest market outside China, and restricts access to certain types of financing from Brazilian banks.

The measure does not affect operations at the company's only plant in the country, which has already begun producing vehicles.

BYD did not reply to a request for comment.

The workers at the center of the case were hired through contractor Jinjiang Group, which has denied the allegations. BYD has previously said it was unaware of any violations until Brazilian media reported the issue in late November.

Brazilian officials, however, have said the automaker bears responsibility for ensuring labor standards across its supply chain, including those of its contractors.

Investigators found multiple instances of alleged abuse.

Chinese workers hired by Jinjiang in Brazil had to hand over their passports to their new employer, let most of their wages be sent directly to China, and fork over an almost $900 deposit that they could only get back after six months' work, according to a labor contract seen by Reuters.

A raid by labor inspectors also revealed overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions.

Thirty-one workers were crammed into a single house with only one bathroom, and food piled up on the ground alongside personal belongings, in what inspectors described as "degrading conditions."

The revelations triggered international criticism, including within China, and delayed construction of the plant for several months.

Despite the controversy, BYD appeared to have moved past the episode. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attended the plant's inauguration in October, signaling a strengthening of economic ties between Brazil and China.

The facility has since produced more than 25,000 vehicles.

Under Brazilian law, companies can avoid being added to the registry by signing agreements with authorities committing to reforming labor practices and compensating affected workers.

BYD reached an agreement with labor prosecutors but did not sign a similar deal with labor inspectors, a factor that contributed to its inclusion on the list.

Companies are added only after exhausting all administrative appeals and typically remain on the registry for two years unless removed by court order.