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MEFC charging extra Tk50,000 per e-visa to fund Dato’ Sree Amin

Staff Correspondent
14 Feb 2023 00:00:00 | Update: 14 Feb 2023 00:07:10
MEFC charging extra Tk50,000 per e-visa to fund Dato’ Sree Amin

Bangladeshi recruiting agencies have accused the Malaysian Employment Facilitation Centre (MEFC) of receiving extra and unauthorised money by seizing workers’ passports while issuing e-visa.

MEFC is now issuing Malaysian e-visa for Bangladeshi workers.

Though the Malaysian government appointed seven companies to issue e-visa, insiders said mainly the MEFC is active now. Malaysian firm Bestinet is the mother concern of MEFC.

The recruiting agency sources also alleged that the MEFC is now taking opportunity of the situation and charging a huge amount of money from each worker who submits passport to MEFC for e-visa.

Mentionable, the e-visa is needed after the issuance of the calling visa.

Talking to the Business Post several recruiting agencies said: “It takes at least 20 days to get the e-visa from MEFC office in Dhaka. Due to unusually lengthy time and delay, workers often miss scheduled flight and lose money because of cancellation of tickets.

Seeking anonymity, a senior leader of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies, told the Business Post, “Though the authorised fee is Tk 3,300 for issuing each e-visa, the MEFC is taking Tk 4,629 instead. Moreover, the company is blackmailing the Bangladeshi workers by demanding Tk 50,000 from each worker who submits his passport for e-visa.”

In case of failure to pay extra and denial by agencies, MEFC seizes the passports.”

The senior BAIRA leader said: “Those who do not agree to pay the extra Tk 50,000, their passports are sent to a particular recruiting agency named Catharsis International. And the agencies are asked to go there to collect passports. When officials of recruiting agencies on behalf of workers go to Catharsis office in Bashundhara area in the capital, they are forced to pay the money to get back the passports.”

When asked about the extra charges taken, MEFC Manager (Operation) Rifat Sattar failed to make any clear explanation.

‘Shawpon is an accomplice of Amin’

Recruiting agency sources said Malaysian firm Bestinet is the mother concern of MEFC.

They alleged that Bestinet owner, Bangladeshi origin Aminul Islam bin Abdul Nor is making money by controlling worker recruitment process of Bangladesh while Bangladeshi recruiting agency Catharsis International’s owner Ruhul Amin Shawpon is helping him to earn money illegally.

Amin is limiting the number of agencies by manipulating FWCMS and Shawpon is organizing all those limited agencies under his umbrella.

Their affiliated medical centres have taken medical test of 10 people against a single worker dispatched. Thus they grabbed over Tk 600 crore from aspirant Bangladeshi migrant workers.

It is alleged that using auto quota allocation system of FWCMS, Amin-Shawpon duo provides work orders to those agencies only who are controlled by them. They take extra Tk 1,50,000 as service charge from the agencies which ultimately increases the migration cost.

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