Bangladesh asks Malaysia to arrest 2 businessmen in migrant trafficking case

Police in Bangladesh have asked the Malaysian government to arrest and extradite two businessmen as part of a probe of alleged money laundering, extortion and trafficking of migrant workers.

The men - Aminul Islam and Ruhul Amin - are alleged to have played key roles in a system that "fraudulently extorted money from the victims" and exposed them to "physical and mental torture," according to a letter dated Oct. 24 that Bangladesh's branch of Interpol sent to its counterpart in Malaysia.

Bloomberg News reviewed a copy of the letter, which doesn't say whether the men have been charged. Police Inspector Ashiqur Rahman, who is part of Bangladesh's Interpol branch, confirmed the contents in a telephone interview on Sunday. A senior Bangladeshi government official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the matter, also confirmed the letter.

The South Asian nation's police asked that Malaysia's government temporarily halt its use of the software provided by Bestinet Sdn, a closely held company that Aminul founded. Malaysian officials have used this software to process and monitor hundreds of thousands of migrant workers from Bangladesh and other countries since at least 2018.

Aminul, who's commonly known as Amin, was born in Bangladesh and gained Malaysian citizenship more than a decade ago. His lawyer said they have not received any information about the letter and categorically denied the allegations raised in it.

Bloomberg News sought comment from Ruhul, who's Bangladeshi, by phone and by contacting Catharsis International, a Dhaka-based recruitment firm of which he is a proprietor. A representative for Catharsis said by email that Ruhul refuted any allegations and has "always been operating legally, legitimately and ethically."

A representative for Bestinet said the company isn't aware of the letter from Bangladesh's police including the request that Malaysian authorities stop using Bestinet software, and declined to comment.

Malaysia's police, as well as the nation's home affairs and foreign affairs ministries, did not respond to requests for comment. The human resources ministry declined to comment.

Ashiqur said the men were last sighted in Kuala Lumpur. He said that Malaysian authorities responded to the letter by requesting the Bangladesh police submit a formal request for extradition. Those documents are currently being prepared, he said.

Debt bondage

The requests for arrest are part of a broader investigation into middlemen and lawmakers involved in sending workers from Bangladesh to Malaysia.

Labour migration is one of Bangladesh's most important industries but is also known to involve fees that saddle workers with debts and make them vulnerable to abuse as they go abroad.

Bangladesh's interim government, which was installed in August after student protesters ousted the nation's longtime leader, has made it a priority to eliminate unlawful fees and hold recruitment agents, bureaucrats and destination countries accountable for workers' wellbeing, according to Asif Nazrul, adviser to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment.

More than 1 million Bangladeshis have gone to work in Malaysia over the past two decades. Human rights activists have documented numerous cases of Bangladeshi and other migrant workers facing abuse including debt bondage.

A Malaysian government-appointed panel in 2019 found that the recruitment process was rife with fraud and that workers were charged excessive fees that led to forced labour. In a 109-page report, the panel recommended that the government stop using third-party service providers including Bestinet.

Having "multiple services providers also result in cascading unnecessary cost from charges and fees imposed on both foreign workers, employers and sometimes also the government," the report said.

Bestinet has said that it complies with all laws both in Bangladesh and Malaysia.