Foreign Worker Syndicate Dhaka Court Bins Ex Minister S Bail Bid

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The Dhaka Anti-Human Trafficking Tribunals on Nov 17 rejected the bail application of former Bangladeshi welfare and employment minister Imran Ahmad, who is also facing charges in Malaysia.
Imran (above) is one of the 103 people charged with human trafficking in a foreign worker syndicate.
Judge Abdullah Al Mamun rejected the application after finding that the former minister is a flight risk, considering the seriousness of the charges.
Lawyer Rafiqul Islam, who appeared for the complainant in the case, confirmed the matter to Malaysiakini when contacted.
ADS“Some of the accused have appeared in court, but many more are still free and absconded, including those who were previously granted bail.
“(While some other) accused had applied for adjournments and successfully obtained court approval, and this shows the gap in control over the accused in the legal system,” he said.
Abdullah said Imran’s application was also rejected due to factors such as the safety of the victim and the smoothness of the investigation.
The Bangladeshi police arrested Imran last year on suspicion that he was involved in a large-scale investigation involving a labour agency that sent workers to Malaysia.
Previously, the Dhaka High Court quashed the final report submitted by the Bangladesh Criminal Investigation Department against the 103 individuals in question.
Not a comprehensive report
The case’s complainant Altab Khan filed a police report at Paltan Police Station in Dhaka on Sept 3 last year, claiming that 103 individuals embezzled RM8.36 billion through an organised syndicate.
Among the big names in the report were former senior secretary Ahmed Munirus Saleheen and former MP Nizam Uddin Hazari.
Rafiqul further said that the court, on Nov 17, had ordered the police to submit a new full report before Jan 7.
“My client (Altab) previously claimed that the final police report was incomplete, non-transparent and influenced by the accused.
“The investigating officer also failed to interview the victim and did not visit the scene of the incident, leaving many important facts uninvestigated.
“The victim's statement was not recorded in accordance with Section 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code, while the witness was allegedly given false statements, making this case vulnerable to manipulation by the accused.
ADS“The evidence submitted to the police was not reviewed, giving the impression that the final police report was just a formal document, not a comprehensive investigation report,” said Rafiqul.
Workers’ exploitation
The entry of Bangladeshi workers into Malaysia had resumed in August 2022, after almost six years of hiatus.
However, the programme was halted after more than 476,000 workers had come into the country, leaving another 17,000 licensed workers unable to depart their home country.
Putrajaya, at the time, had only greenlit 25 Bangladeshi agencies to send workers, who were later known as a “syndicate” and were said to have links to four former Bangladeshi ministers and MPs.
Although the Bangladeshi government set the official cost at 79,000 taka (about RM3,400) per worker, workers claimed that they were forced to pay up to 544,000 taka (about RM23,000) per person.
Of that amount, about 142,000 taka was collected by agents in Bangladesh and another 150,000 taka by the syndicate in Malaysia for each visa.
Last July, Malaysiakini reported that Dhaka had agreed to stop its investigation into allegations that syndicates were exploiting its citizens who wanted to work in Malaysia, at the behest of the Malaysian government.
According to a local official who declined to be identified, the decision was made during a meeting in Kuala Lumpur between representatives of the Bangladeshi government and the Malaysian Human Resources Ministry on July 17. - Mkini

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