After losing lakhs to 'syndicate', left-behind workers paying again for Malaysia

Infographics: TBS

Kishoreganj resident Shamim Mia, 25, was among the roughly 18,000 Bangladeshis who lost their chance to migrate to Malaysia in mid-2024 after failing to secure flight tickets and complete final paperwork before the host country's deadline.
Shamim had paid middlemen about Tk5.5 lakh but recovered only Tk2 lakh after his migration collapsed. Now selected for a second attempt through the state-run Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL), he has been forced to pay another Tk1.62 lakh.

Malaysia had set 31 May 2024 as the cut-off date for processing workers through 100 recruiting agencies—widely described as the "syndicate". Although many candidates had completed their paperwork, agencies failed to arrange flights at the last moment, leaving thousands stranded.
Although recruitment has remained suspended since, the government is now sending those left behind through a special G2G arrangement.

Workers and rights groups say the earlier recruitment was riddled with middlemen and inflated charges far above the official government rate of Tk79,000.
"I filed a complaint with BMET eight months ago, but nobody contacted me," Shamim told TBS. "They said I'd be called for arbitration, but no one followed up."

Shamim is not alone. Of the roughly 18,000 who missed the deadline, Malaysia has so far cleared 7,883 names in the first phase. When BOESL reopened applications, around 4,000 applied and 2,900 were selected as their names appeared on Malaysia's valid list. These workers are now undergoing construction-sector training under BOESL.

But despite previously paying Tk4–6 lakh to brokers, the workers must pay again. The government had initially pledged that those who failed to travel would be fully refunded or sent abroad at state expense.
In reality, many received nothing, some got modest refunds, and all selected workers must now deposit Tk1,62,500.

Syed Saiful Haque, a migrant rights activist and chair of the WARBE Development Foundation, said the government failed its first responsibility: recovering money from the "syndicate" agencies.
"The Wage Earners' Welfare Board could have covered the costs, banks' CSR funds could have supported the victims. But none of this happened," he said.

A senior expatriates ministry official, requesting anonymity, echoed the criticism.
"If the agencies that failed to send workers were given a strict deadline under threat of licence cancellation, they would have refunded workers or sent them abroad," he said.

Why did the workers have to pay again?

BOESL General Manager Noor Ahmed told TBS, "Under the employer-pay model, we initially tried to send the workers to Malaysia at no cost. But after waiting several months, there was no response from Malaysian employers."

"Since everyone on the list must be sent by December, we could not wait any longer and decided to send the workers at minimum cost," he added.

Although the government-fixed migration cost to Malaysia was Tk79,000 in 2022, the 100-agency syndicate charged each worker between Tk4 lakh and Tk6.5 lakh till mid-2024.

Noor Ahmed said, "Employers have various expenses of around Tk1 lakh. Besides that, there are airfare and medical costs. Normally, as a commercial agency, we charge a service fee for sending workers abroad, but for these Malaysia-bound workers, we are not taking a single taka. In fact, BOESL is covering additional expenses."

The latest cost (Tk1,62,500) breakdown includes: Tk75,000 for the Malaysian agent fee, Tk45,000 for airfare, Tk22,500 for training, Tk10,000 for medical tests, and Tk10,000 for interview-related expenses.

Voices of aspirant migrants

Abdul Baten, another BOESL applicant from Pabna, said, "Earlier, I paid Tk5.58 lakh to a broker. Even though everything was ready, I still couldn't go. Later, the broker returned only Tk2 lakh."

"Since getting the chance to go through BOESL, I paid again. I have deposited Tk1,62,500. Now we are receiving training in the construction sector," he added.

Another worker, Alamgir, who also failed to migrate earlier, said, "Those shortlisted through BOESL were initially told they would be sent for Tk79,000. Later, the amount increased. Many haven't received their previous payments back, yet they are being asked to pay again."

Around 2,400 workers have completed training under BOESL, and all have paid the required fees. Another 500 are still waiting for training and have also been compelled to deposit money.

Alamgir added, "Due to age limits and documentation issues, many workers have been dropped from the new list. Initially, the age limit was 18 to 45, but now only those aged between 20 and 40 are being taken. As a result, around 1,500–2,000 workers have been excluded."

He alleged, "Those who paid earlier didn't even get 10% of their money back. I personally paid Tk4 lakh and received Tk2 lakh after filing a complaint. Many got partial refunds, but most got nothing."

According to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, BMET issued clearance for 493,642 workers up to the Malaysia deadline. Of them, roughly 18,000 failed to travel. Recruiting agents were supposed to refund these workers in full.

Refund status still unclear

TBS contacted all relevant authorities — including the expatriates ministry, BMET, and BAIRA — but none could provide exact figures on how many workers received a full or partial refund.

Ali Haider Chowdhury, former secretary general of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), at that time said, "The entire matter was supervised by the ministry. BAIRA members responded positively. They may not have provided full compensation, but they acted according to ministry instructions."

Current BAIRA Secretary Nazrul Islam told TBS, "I am not aware of the issue and would speak to my staff."

A senior BMET official said, "Many workers submitted complaints both to the ministry and to BMET. The ministry also forwarded many complaints to us. Altogether, we did not leave any complaint pending."

However, he noted it would take more time to determine the exact number of workers who received a refund.

AZM Nurul Haque, joint secretary of the Monitoring and Enforcement Wing at the expatriates ministry, said, "We do not have a ready figure showing total compensated workers. The files are scattered and need further work."

Expatriates Ministry Adviser Asif Nazrul and Senior Secretary Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan did not respond to calls from TBS.