Dhaka police have arrested a former Bangladesh minister implicated in a large-scale ongoing investigation involving manpower agencies in the country sending workers to Malaysia.
Bangladesh media The Business Standard reported that Imran Ahmed, a former minister in charge of expatriates‘ welfare and overseas employment, had been arrested by local police on Monday.
According to the report, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner Obaidur Rahman confirmed Imran’s arrest but the exact reason could not be immediately disclosed.
In September, The Business Standard reported that the owner of a recruiting agency had lodged a police report against 103 individuals, including Imran, for alleged involvement in what was claimed to be a syndicate that exploited Bangladeshi workers seeking employment in Malaysia.
The police report referenced allegations of embezzlement and human trafficking linked to the process of sending Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia through agencies selected under a government-to-government memorandum of understanding signed on Dec 19, 2021, between Imran and then human resources minister M Saravanan.
At the time, Saravanan said the previous agreement had expired on Feb 17, 2020, while the new terms will be enforced until December 2026.
Eliminating ‘syndicates’
Before signing the MOU, Imran said his ministry intended to eliminate “syndicates” formed by a select list of agencies permitted to carry out the recruitment process, a practice which in the past was linked to increased costs and various irregularities.
He was responding to concerns raised by the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira), which requested equal opportunity for all of its nearly 1,600 members to be allowed to send workers to Malaysia.
Under the MOU, Malaysia proposed a list of 25 Bangladesh Recruitment Agents (BRAs) and 250 sub-agents, and Imran had reportedly rejected the proposal.
Imran was appointed minister two months after the Pakatan Harapan federal government, on Sept 1, 2018, suspended the recruitment of workers from Bangladesh, at the time by 10 selected BRAs and their associates, under the Foreign Worker Application System.
He reportedly remained in office until January this year under former prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wazid’s administration. - Mkini
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