ACC to prosecute 13 agencies for ‘embezzling’ Tk 11.59b in Malaysia jobs
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The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is set to file cases against the owners of 13 recruiting agencies on charges of embezzling about Tk 11.59 billion through a syndicate formed in the name of sending workers to Malaysia.
ACC Director General Md Akhtar Hossain confirmed the approval of the cases to journalists on Sunday.
The agencies include one operated by former Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) president M Shahadat Hossain Taslim.
According to the investigation report, the suspects used their positions in the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) to form a syndicate and engage in corruption in the worker recruitment process.
Instead of the government-set fee of Tk 78,990, five times more money was collected from the workers.
In addition, workers were sent outside contracts using political influence, bypassing the prescribed rules for recruiting workers in Malaysia.
Additional money was collected through fraud for the workers’ passports, health examinations, and other expenses.
Earlier, in March, the ACC filed a case against 12 recruiting agencies on the same charges.
The agency said the 64 suspects have been accused of embezzling a total of Tk 22.88 billion by collecting additional money from workers.
Malaysia stopped taking manpower from Bangladesh in 2018 due to different irregularities and syndicates. On Dec 19, 2021, the country signed an agreement with Bangladesh to resume worker recruitment.
The Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment set a maximum worker visa fee of Tk 78,540 in a 2022 office order.
Under the agreement between the two nations, 10 designated recruiting agencies used to send workers to the country until 2016.
However, in 2021, the two countries signed a new Memorandum of Understanding, which increased the number of recruiting agencies to 100.
Out of the 100 agencies, a syndicate of 20-25 agencies began to control the entire process of sending workers to Malaysia.