KUALA LUMPUR: A former Bangladeshi minister allegedly responsible for jobs and recruitment of Bangladeshis overseas, including Malaysia, has been arrested on Monday.
The ex-minister identified as Imran Ahmed was arrested to facilitate an investigation into large-scale labour exploitation involving Bangladeshis who were sent to Malaysia to work.
Imran had been overseeing overseas employment and welfare of its citizens up till January this year.
He was apprehended by the Dhaka police, The Business Standard (TBS) reported.
Dhaka deputy commissioner of police Obaidur Rahman confirmed the arrest to TBS but did not disclose the specific reason for his arrest.
TBS reported that the arrest resulted from a police report which was lodged last month by one of the owners of labour agency.
The complainant claimed that Imran, along with 103 others, was involved in an exploitation syndicate targeting desperate Bangladeshi workers seeking employment in Malaysia and also detailed the corruption and human trafficking elements linked to the alleged syndicate.
According to the report, the complainant disclosed details of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Imran and then-Malaysian Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan in December 2021, linking it to the workers' exploitation.
It adds that the MoU signed by Saravanan had expired in February 2020 and a new agreement with new terms said to be valid until December 2026 had been signed.
"Prior to signing the MOU, Imran had expressed his intention to eliminate "syndicates" formed by the selected list of labour agencies, practices that had previously been linked to increased costs and irregularities.
"However, the Bangladesh International Recruitment Agencies Association (Baira) had expressed concerns about the lack of equal opportunities for its approximately 1,600 members to send workers to Malaysia," BBS reported.
TBS also stated that under the new MOU, Malaysia had proposed a list of 25 Bangladeshi Recruitment Agencies (BRAs) and 250 sub-agents, which Imran reportedly rejected.
"In Sept 2018, Imran suspended the recruitment of workers from Bangladesh, which was then handled by 10 selected BRAs and their associated companies, under the Foreign Worker Application System.
"All this had allegedly transpired under the administration of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed," it said.
The report said Imran's arrest has raised concerns about the integrity of the labour recruitment process between Bangladesh and Malaysia.
It also prompted calls for a thorough investigation into the allegations of corruption and human trafficking.