PETALING JAYA: Bestinet Sdn Bhd, which runs the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS) to register foreign workers in Malaysia, has denied that it is involved in money laundering.
“We do not collect cash. The RM100 fee per foreign worker is banked into the system. It's all in our books. How can there be money laundering?” Bestinet director Datuk Rathakrishnan Vellaisamy asked.
He was responding to Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran’s answers in Parliament this morning, stating the Nepal government had barred its workers from coming to Malaysia and was investigating Bestinet for money laundering.
It was reported the Nepal government was unhappy with its workers having no choice but to go through only one private company for security and medical check-ups, as part of the visa requirement to work in Malaysia.
There are at least half a million Nepalese workers in Malaysia, most of whom are security guards and construction workers.
In a media briefing here this evening, Rathakrishnan expressed frustration that false allegations were thrown at Bestinet.
“We would be more than happy to meet with Minister M. Kulasegaran to give him the facts and figures about our role in the foreign workers recruitment process,” said Rathakrishnan.
When asked to identify shareholders of Bestinet, Rathakrishnan said they were Datuk Seri Mohd Aminul Islam Abdul Nor and Datuk Tengku Omar Tengku Bot.
Also present at the briefing was Bestinet chief executive Ismail Mohd Noor.
He reiterated that Bestinet did not have any monopoly over the entire foreign workers recruitment process.
“We only handle the health screening portion of the foreign workers recruitment process. We are not involved in providing the ISC (Immigration Security Clearance) or the VLN (Visa Luar Negara) or the OSC (One Stop Centre) services.
“Hence, the allegations that Bestinet has been charging migrant worker for scanning passports, fingerprinting and uploading the data online are entirely false,” Ismail said.
He explained that the only reason Bestinet workers’ collected biometrics at source countries was to ensure the person who went for check-up at the accredited medical centre was the same person who arrived in Malaysia.
“The biometrics collection during health screening is to prevent impersonation. We welcome Malaysia government’s latest decision to thoroughly review all systems and service providers in the recruitment and management of foreign workers. We look forward to providing our full support,” Ismail added.
Rathakrishnan said if Bestinet continued to face further false allegations, the company would be compelled to file defamation suits or pursue criminal defamation.