According to media reports, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) announced on 11 November that it will file cases against four recruiting agencies accused of forming syndicates to defraud and launder money under the pretext of sending workers to Malaysia.
These agencies reportedly charged 18,563 workers five times more than the government-approved migration cost of Tk78,990. As a result, the ACC is bringing charges involving the embezzlement and laundering of Tk310.93 crore in four cases. Earlier this year, the ACC filed 12 cases in March, 13 in September, and cases against 11 individuals in November over overcharging Malaysia-bound workers.
Such cases are nothing new—there have been many before, and there will be more. But the question remains: will the exploited workers ever recover the extra money they paid?
The exploitation of migrant workers by recruiting agencies is not limited to Malaysia. Wherever these agencies send workers—from Bangladesh to any part of the world—they routinely extort excessive payments. Workers are not even given valid receipts for the money collected, and agencies do not deposit this money in any formal bank account for obvious reasons. This has been a longstanding practice. Unsurprisingly, many agency owners have strong political and administrative connections, allowing them to “manage” their exploitation networks without consequence. Workers, meanwhile, continue to bear the brunt of this abuse.
In the case of Malaysia, the Bangladeshi agencies—especially the leading syndicates—have become powerful enough to secure their interests at both ends of the recruitment process.
Referring to the 19 December 2021 memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Bangladesh and Malaysia, reports note that although the number of permitted recruiting agencies was expanded from 25 to 100, recruitment remained under the control of a single syndicate. Despite the government-set migration cost being Tk78,540, workers on average ended up paying Tk500,000 each. A similar syndicate of 10 agencies operated under the earlier 2016 “G2G Plus” arrangement. In reality, not a single worker went through the genuine government-to-government (G2G) channel; everyone was sent through the “Plus” mechanism. The term “G2G” was retained simply to mislead the public. The entire process was controlled by the 10-agency syndicate blessed by influential quarters in both countries. Within just two years, they extracted huge sums of money from poor workers, most of which was smuggled out of Bangladesh through illegal channels.
When Malaysia first began recruiting Bangladeshi workers, the numbers were small, but workers could migrate with relative security. In many cases, employers even paid for airfare. But as recruitment volumes grew, vested groups began exploiting and deceiving workers. Because of such abuses, Malaysia imposed a ban on Bangladeshi workers in July 1996. It temporarily reopened recruitment in 2000, but again halted it in January 2001 due to persistent mistreatment. After lifting the ban in July 2003, the two countries signed an MoU in October that year.
During 2007–08, unethical competition among recruiting agencies prompted Malaysia to suspend recruitment again in March 2009. After the suspension was lifted, a new G2G MoU was signed in November 2012, and workers resumed migrating in April 2013.
The 2012 G2G MoU represented a rare positive chapter: migration costs were below Tk35,000, making it one of the most worker-friendly recruitment systems. But in 2016, a syndicate of 10 agencies effectively “strangled” this system by replacing it with the exploitative G2G Plus model. This syndicate operated until May 2018, when a change in Malaysia’s government temporarily halted its activities.
After another MoU was signed on 19 December 2021, recruitment resumed through a syndicate of 25 agencies—later expanded to 100. But in May 2024, Malaysia again suspended recruitment from Bangladesh.
Both Bangladeshi and Malaysian agencies have a vested interest in reopening and then repeatedly closing this labour market. Every cycle benefits the syndicates while increasing the burden of ACC investigations. Meanwhile, vulnerable overseas jobseekers remain trapped in endless cycles of exploitation—because this is a multi‑billion-taka game.
To stop this exploitation, Bangladesh must establish a transparent, worker-friendly recruitment framework, along with committed and patriotic leadership capable of enforcing it.
We know that the 26 November 2012 G2G MoU was widely praised worldwide—especially by organisations involved in migration—because it was safe and worker-friendly. But as it did not serve the interests of vested groups, the system was dismantled after sending only 10,000 workers.
We can revive that model, but with safeguards. Recruiting agencies should be included only for marketing, such as gathering job demand from employers and submitting it to the relevant ministry. After verifying these demands through our embassy, the ministry should send workers directly from a government-managed database. Agencies would receive service fees only after workers join their jobs. Since agencies would not deal directly with workers, there would be no opportunity to extract additional money, while their legitimate interests would still be protected.
But the key question remains: Will recruiting agencies willingly give up the existing opportunities for exploitation and illegal money transfers? Will their conscience ever awaken for these poor workers?
Still, if the government takes firm, timely action, implementing such a system is entirely possible.
The writer is a former ambassador and secretary
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
