Tuesday, June 4, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 23
International Desk: In a scandal described as the biggest financial scam in Bangladesh’s history, recruiting agencies have looted approximately Tk 22.5 thousand crore in the process of sending Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia.
For over three decades, influential circles have exploited the system, promising employment opportunities abroad while siphoning off vast sums of money from unsuspecting workers.
According to an agreement with the Malaysian government, Bangladesh was permitted to send 526,676 workers to Malaysia as of May 31, 2024.
However, the Bangladesh Manpower Employment and Training Bureau (BMET) issued clearance for around 494,642 workers. Despite this, 32,000 workers were inexplicably laid off, raising questions about transparency and accountability in the recruitment process.
Each worker was supposed to pay Tk 78,990 to cover costs such as passport fees, health examinations, registration fees, welfare fees, insurance, smart card fees, and service charges for recruiting agencies. Besides, the hiring companies were responsible for covering 15 additional sectors, including airfare from Dhaka to Malaysia.
Despite these stipulations, a syndicate led by Malaysian resident Amin Noor, along with recruiting agencies, extorted an average of Tk 500,000 from 476,642 workers.
This massive exploitation amounts to approximately Tk 225,000 crore. Besides, about 17,000 workers, despite spending Tk 933 crore, could not make it to Malaysia, highlighting the depth of the scam.
State Minister for Expatriate Welfare and Foreign Employment Shafiqur Rahman Chowdhury has attributed the responsibility to the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA).
However, immigration analysts refute this claim, suggesting that the Ministry’s statement is a means to deflect responsibility. If the Expatriate Welfare Ministry says that they have not been given the list, then it is unfortunate.
Admitting to irregularities, BAIRA General Secretary Ali Haider Chowdhury acknowledged a lack of supervision throughout the process.
The process of sending workers involved 101 recruiting agencies until May 31, 2024.
The Malaysian government had previously closed its labour market to Bangladeshi workers in 2018, citing human trafficking and corruption involving Tk 5,000 crore. The labour market reopened in 2022, only for these new allegations of widespread corruption and exploitation to emerge.
Stakeholders say that this massive scandal highlights the urgent need for stricter regulations and oversight in the recruitment process for overseas employment as the exploitation of vulnerable workers not only causes immense financial loss but also tarnished the reputation of both the sending and receiving countries.
