Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade was ordered by the U.S. Department of State to leave the country on Thursday after she was indicted for visa fraud and making false statements, the Associated Press reported.
Khobragade is accused of lying about paying her housekeeper, Sangeeta Richard, an agreed amount of $4,500 per month and actually paid her less than the U.S. minimum wage, and for creating and presenting false documents and statements in order to obtain a visa for the housekeeper in question, the AP reported.
The case involving Khobragade exploded and received criticism from India after she was arrested, strip searched and placed into a cell with other criminals with a bail of $250,000, according to the AP.
According to an official presiding over the case, Khobragade was asked to leave the country after India refused to waive her immunity so that she may be properly sent to trial, the AP reported.
The court hearing to finalize her departure and indictment occurred late Thursday evening and only involved the lawyers presiding over the case, the AP reported.
At the end of the hearing, U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin gave the final word which would allow Khobragade to leave the country, and said she "is permitted to obey the order of the State Department without any adverse consequence to her and her sureties," according to the AP.
Richards, spoke about the case for the first time on Thursday and said she had hoped her time in the U.S. would allow her to work for a few years and support her family in India before returning home, according to the AP.
"I never thought that things would get so bad here, that I would work so much that I did not have time to sleep or eat or have time to myself," Richards said in a statement released by the anti-trafficking group Safe Horizon, according to the AP.
She claims that she wanted to return to India after she had spoken to Khobragade about her wages and days off and continued to be treated unfairly but said India denied her request, according to the AP. Richards and her family are currently being villainized in India for going against her employer.
"I would like to tell other domestic workers who are suffering as I did - you have rights and do not let anyone exploit you," Richards said in the statement,
Daniel Arshack, the diplomat's attorney, said in a post-hearing statement that his client "is pleased to be returning to her country. Her head is held high. She knows she has done no wrong and she looks forward to assuring that the truth is known," the AP reported.
According to a letter from the office of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, the pending charges will remain until she is either brought to court to face them, through a waiver of immunity or if she ever returns to the U.S. without immunity status, the AP reported.
