Malaysia’s anti-graft agency has separately arrested 10 individuals including the CEO of an IT firm for allegedly receiving bribes from employers and agents in relation to the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers.
The IT company is believed to have been appointed by the government to handle foreign worker applications, reports the Free Malaysia Today.
A labour agency in Dhaka previously accused Bestinet’s founder of “persuading” the government to limit the number of agencies that supply labour to only 25.
On Wednesday, eight people including the IT firm’s CEO were arrested.
Later in the day, a businessman and an employment agency owner were also nabbed over the scandal. They were later remanded for three days starting Thursday.
“The businessman is being investigated for receiving more than RM1 million in bribes, while the employment agency owner is suspected of bribing a company that provided a platform for foreign worker applications,” a source said.
The arrests follow the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) July 5 raid on Bestinet Sdn Bhd, the IT firm in question, over alleged corruption and abuse of power in selecting the Bangladeshi agencies.
However, Bestinet on Thursday denied claims that its founder, Amin Abdul Nor, was arrested.
An MACC source said the CEO received up to $336 in bribes.
Six of the detainees, including two women, were placed on demand till Friday.
The others, a man and a woman, were released on bail after their statements were recorded.
But the MACC on Thursday has remanded two more individuals in this connection.
The source also said the IT company might have processed about 345,861 applications between May and July.
In July, the human resources and home ministries agreed to allow foreign workers from 15 source countries to work in Malaysia’s manufacturing, construction and services industries.
Earlier this year, authorities in Bangladesh provided a list of 1,520 recruitment companies, of which the Malaysian Human Resources Ministry only selected 25.
Malaysian Minister of Human Resources Datuk Seri Saravanan Murugan said on June 1 that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was not involved in selecting the 25 worker recruitment companies.
His ministry then said: “The allegations about the prime minister are totally false and unfounded.”
In December last year, Malaysia and Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding on the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers, effective for five years until December 2026.
