The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court today (4 October) stayed High Court orders that had suspended the government’s decision to revoke the licences of 49 recruiting agencies over alleged irregularities in sending workers to Malaysia.
Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division Justice Md Rezaul Haque passed the order after hearing a state petition seeking a stay on the High Court orders.
Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kajal confirmed the development to The Business Standard.
He said the government had issued a notification on 19 July revoking the licences of the 49 agencies. After one of the agencies filed a writ petition challenging the notification, the High Court suspended its operation.
The government appealed against the order, and the Appellate Division stayed the High Court order on 30 September, he said.
Later, 11 more agencies filed separate writ petitions with the High Court and obtained similar stay orders. The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment subsequently moved the Appellate Division against those orders.
Following today’s hearing, the chamber judge stayed the operation of the High Court orders, Kajal said.
As a result, the government’s decision to revoke the licences of the 49 recruiting agencies remains in effect.
Why the licences were revoked
According to the 19 July notification, recruiting agencies are required, as a condition of their licences, to comply with the Overseas Employment and Migrants Act, 2013, the Overseas Employment and Migration (Amendment) Act, 2023, and other relevant laws and regulations.
The notification said charge sheets had been filed and accepted by courts against the agencies under Sections 406, 420, 385, 386, 427 and 34 of the Penal Code, 1860.
Their licences were therefore revoked under the migration law, according to the notification.
The agencies whose licences were revoked include Orbitals Enterprise and Orbital International, owned by the wife and daughter of former Awami League finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.
The list also includes Ahmed International, owned by former Dhaka-20 lawmaker Benazir Ahmed; Snigdha Overseas Ltd, owned by former Feni-2 lawmaker Nizam Uddin Hazari; and Five M International, owned by former Jatiya Party lawmaker and retired Lieutenant General Masud Uddin Chowdhury.
Other agencies on the list include Unique Eastern Private Limited, owned by manpower sector businessman Noor Ali, and Catharsis International, owned by Ruhul Amin alias Swapan, who has been linked to the alleged Malaysia recruitment syndicate.
The remaining agencies are Shaheen Travels, Irving Enterprise, Haidori Trade International, Rabbi International, Zaharat Associate, Four Site International, Binimoy International, Akash Vromon Limited, QK Quick Express Limited, United Export, GMG Trading, Sadia International, Super Eastern Limited, Elegants Overseas, Midway Overseas Limited, Madina Overseas, Al-Khamis International, New Age International, Dahmashi Corporation, Galaxy Corporation, Sultan Overseas, Prabhati International, Manispower Corporation, Amin Tours and Travels, ISMT Human Resource Development, Darbar Global Overseas, Natasha Overseas, Aparajita Overseas, Stanford Employment Private Limited, Jannat Overseas, BM Travels Limited, Rubel Bangladesh Limited, BNS Overseas, Trans Asia Integrate Services, Al Farah Human Resources and Consultancy, Brothers International, Ananya Apurba Recruiting Agency, Thanex International Limited, JG Al-Falah Management, Imperial Resources, PR Overseas and MEF Global Bangladesh.
Malaysia recruitment and alleged syndicate
Malaysia stopped recruiting workers from Bangladesh in 2018 amid allegations of irregularities and the operation of a recruitment syndicate.
The two countries signed a new labour recruitment agreement on 19 December 2021, under which the government fixed a maximum recruitment-related cost of Tk78,540 for workers travelling to Malaysia on employment visas.
Until 2016, 10 designated recruiting agencies sent workers to Malaysia under a government-to-government arrangement. The 2021 agreement increased the number of recruiting agencies involved in the process to 100.
Allegations subsequently emerged that a new syndicate had been formed, with 20–25 of the 100 agencies allegedly controlling recruitment to Malaysia.
Following the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August 2024, the Anti-Corruption Commission began investigating allegations of irregularities and corruption in the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia.
According to ACC data, the agencies sent 267,276 workers to Malaysia and allegedly charged them more than five times the government-fixed fee of Tk78,990, collecting an additional Tk4,545 crore 20 lakh 82 thousand 500 in total.
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