1,100 unauthorized agencies deal with Malaysian visa trading

 
Allegation of illegal visa trading has been arisen against more than 1,100 Bangladeshi recruiting agencies, which are not approved by the Malaysian government, have been destroying the manpower market in Malaysia for Bangladeshis by involving in illegal visa trading with huge amount of money.

The aim of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry is to ensure expatriate welfare, security and their interest in foreign markets. To find new overseas market and to job market related manpower building are another duty of the ministry, the ministry sources said.

It results huge amount of illegal business in the market. The additional money, which is around Tk2.50 lakh to Tk 4 lakh, is going to the hands of unauthorized agencies hands in the name of visa trading. Most money is being laundered to different countries, according to the allegations of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) members. The Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) is another

government institute to build manpower with necessary training so that they will be capable enough in overseas market around the world. The target of BMET is to search overseas market and to arrange for sending time specific human resource, the BMET sources said.

The BAIRA members claimed that representatives or owners of those unauthorized agencies have been blaming the 101 Bangladesh Recruiting Agencies (BRA), which are approved by the Malaysian government under the Memorandum of Understating (MoU) signed between the two countries, for charging additional and laundering huge amount of money from the country.

According to the sources, Human Resource Development Center of Fakhrul Islam along with Tribeni International and Celebrity International was involved with illegal visa trading in last two years from 2022 to May 31 this year earned crores of Taka with the business of medical test.

BAIRA Secretary General Ali Haider Chowdhury told The Asian Age correspondent that the manpower migration system must be conducted with the agencies which must remain the authorization from the employer countries.

Responding to the demands of recruiting agencies, Bangladesh government selected more 735 recruiting agencies to assist the 101-agencies as associate agency for collecting migrants and sending those to Malaysia. Out of 1,520 valid agencies, 836 agencies got the scope of playing role in sending workers.

Through the authorized agencies a total of 4,76,500 Bangladeshi migrants have already travelled to the Malaysian manpower market during the period of 2022 to May 31 this year. Around 17,000 intending migrants, who have failed to go before May 31, may also fly soon through the valid agencies.

The sources from Overseas Employment and Training as told that a group of agencies comprising 694 of the rests of valid agencies, which are not approved by the Malaysian government, and around 400 illegal agencies have been doing illegal business of visa trading. They have been buying demands letters and visas from some employers, which do not have much capacity to employ foreign workers, expensing more than Tk1 lakh to 1.50 lakh for each.