Malaysia detains 11 Bangladeshis in quota fraud probe

Malaysian authorities on Thursday detained 20 people, including 11 Bangladeshis, for their alleged involvement in a foreign worker quota fraud scheme in the country.

The Immigration Department of Malaysia (JIM) arrested them during a raid in the Taman Datuk Ahmad Razali area. The detainees are aged between 23 and 47, according to the JIM.

JIM Director General Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the operation began at 7:30am and was jointly conducted by the Intelligence and Special Operations Division of the department’s headquarters in Putrajaya and two units of the Inland Revenue Board.

The raid was launched based on information provided by members of the public and intelligence gathered by the immigration authorities, he said.

Of the 20 detainees, two Bangladeshi men are suspected to be the owner and manager of the business involved in the scheme.

The remaining detainees include six local female employees and 12 foreign customers, comprising nine Bangladeshi men and three Indonesian women, Zakaria added.

The authorities seized 265 Bangladeshi passports, 63 Indonesian passports, 12 Pakistani passports and one Indian passport during the operation. They also confiscated 6,700 Malaysian ringgit, believed to be money collected from customers.