Thousands of Unauthorized Recruiting Agencies’ Illegal Visa Trade: Skyscraper
Published: 28 October, 2024 | Bangla Version

In an effort to reopen the previously suspended labor market, the governments of Bangladesh and Malaysia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on December 19, 2021. Under this MoU, during a Joint Working Group meeting between the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment (Bangladesh) and the Ministry of Human Resources (Malaysia) on June 2, 2022, it was decided that Malaysia would recruit workers through a limited number of recruiting agencies. Malaysia's government would select specific agencies from the list provided by Bangladesh using an online-based transparent method.

In this context, relevant provisions from the MoU, including Appendix B, Para C-V and C-VI, state that:

• The Government of Malaysia will automatically select the Bangladeshi Recruiting Agencies (BRA) from the list provided by Bangladesh through an online system.

• The Government of Malaysia will ensure transparency and fairness in selecting the agencies and distributing quotas through this system.

The minutes of the Joint Working Group meeting (Point 6.1) reaffirmed that the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia would strictly follow the MoU. Based on these guidelines, Malaysia initially listed 25 agencies from the 1,520 valid licenses sent by the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, later expanding the list to 101, including the government sector's BOESL.

There is no provision in the MoU or Joint Working Group meeting minutes allowing the appointment of local agents in Dhaka by partner agencies or employers. Hence, the involvement of unauthorized recruiting agencies and local agents in the worker migration process is illegal. Despite this, many unlisted agencies have become illegally involved in sending workers to Malaysia, undermining the entire process.

According to the MoU, worker quotas were distributed among the listed agencies through the Auto Allocation system. However, unlisted agencies bypassed regulations, liaised directly with employers, purchased visas through illegal means, and employed local agents to exert control over the listed agencies. They coerced the authorized agencies into processing visas, e-visas, and BMET clearance for their preferred workers. As a result, these unauthorized agencies gained exclusive control over the worker supply process, despite not being officially listed.

The agencies granted quotas through the Auto Allocation system were compelled to process the visas of workers selected by the local agents of the employers, as the employers refused to accept any workers outside this selection. In these cases, large sums of money were illegally transacted between employers and local agents, often involving visa sales. Despite being blamed for the entire process by these unlisted agencies, the listed recruiting agencies had no legal obligation to engage in such practices.

The authorized 101 recruiting agencies worked in compliance with the regulations set forth by both governments to ensure the smooth migration process of workers to Malaysia. They were legally responsible for each step, including:

• High Commission verifications,

• Ministry recruitment approval,

• Worker registration,

• Medical exams,

• Visa processing,

• BMET clearance,

• Worker dispatch to Malaysia, and

• Ensuring the workers received regular wages and benefits upon arrival.

In some cases, after a few months of employment, workers had to return home due to health or other reasons. The authorized agencies had to handle compensation and other related matters for such workers.

Despite following legal protocols, unlisted recruiting agencies, who had no formal role in the migration process, continued to exert pressure on the government through protests and media campaigns, attempting to legitimize their involvement. The ministry eventually conceded, allowing these unlisted agencies to participate in the migration process, further driving up costs.

The unlisted recruiting agencies have pushed the cost of a single visa to an exorbitant 5-6 lakh BDT. Much of this money has been illegally transferred to employers as part of the visa purchase process. A list of 735 such unlisted recruiting agencies has been obtained and verified.

In contrast, the listed agencies, which received quotas through the Auto Allocation System, had no need to engage in visa buying and selling. Their responsibility was to select workers based on their allocated quotas and send them to Malaysia. However, the pressure from employers and the involvement of unlisted agencies in purchasing visas have tainted the process. As a result, the listed agencies had to work with these unlisted agencies under legal undertakings, ensuring that the unlisted agencies were responsible for resolving any issues related to their workers.

When some workers were unable to migrate to Malaysia within the time frame set by the Malaysian government, due to legitimate reasons such as ticket availability, the unlisted agencies shifted all blame onto the authorized quota-holding agencies. They falsely claimed that the listed agencies charged 1-1.5 lakh BDT per worker while the total migration cost per worker was 5-6 lakh BDT. The difference of 3.5-4.5 lakh BDT was pocketed by the unlisted agencies through illegal visa transactions.

Despite this, the Ministry's honorable advisor, Dr. Asif Nazrul, intervened to resolve the issue. He instructed the listed agencies to refund the amounts received from the unlisted agencies, and in turn, the unlisted agencies were directed to refund the money collected from workers. However, only about 25% of the workers have received their refunds.

Many of the unlisted agencies are owned by individuals who have also partnered with the authorized 101 agencies, profiting from visa transactions and illegal monetary dealings. Despite benefiting from the system, some of these individuals have launched media campaigns criticizing the limited agency selection process, driven by the upcoming BAIRA elections and competition for leadership.

For instance, Mr. Fakhrul Islam, managing partner of Human Resource Development Center (RL-452), has engaged in illegal visa trading and earned large sums from this business. Other prominent figures like Mr. Nur Ali, managing director of Unique Eastern (Pvt.) Ltd. (RL-21), have also been involved in both previous and current migration phases.

These media campaigns have negatively impacted the entire manpower export sector. It is crucial that these false narratives stop, and instead, both governments work together to send the workers currently stuck in the pipeline to Malaysia and ensure the success of future migration efforts.