KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has classified its investigation into IT solutions firm Bestinet Sdn Bhd as “no further action” after finding “no evidence of criminal activity”.

MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the agency also found nothing to support claims published by a Dhaka news outlet on allegations of money laundering involving a Bangladesh syndicate recruiting migrant workers for the Malaysian market.

Bestinet, which had its contract to manage the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS) system for the Home Ministry here extended recently, is mentioned in the report by Bangladesh media, Prothom Alo.

Azam, however, said MACC’s probes into Bestinet previously were not related to the allegations published by Prothom Alo, but did not elaborate on what the past investigation was about.

“The case (against Bestinet) was closed based on no evidence on criminality,” he told Scoop.

On Prothom Alo’s recent report, Azam said MACC had investigated the claims of money laundering related to the recruitment of Bangladesh workers to Malaysia, but found no evidence.

“We proactively investigated this matter about a year ago and found no truth to the allegations…we found no evidence supporting claims of large sums of money flowing to Malaysia due to the overcharging of fees to the workers,” Azam said in a message to Scoop.

“We do not possess the information that has been published by the mentioned media in Bangladesh, nor is there a request from the Bangladeshi authorities to investigate the claim,” he added.

MACC’s past probe discovered that there is a memorandum of understanding signed between Putrajaya and a company named MERCS to facilitate the transport of foreign workers here from Bangladesh, Azam also told Scoop.

“This agreement aims to prevent any manipulation in bringing the workers in as tourists, which has led to some workers disappearing without detection.

“We also verified the facilities provided by the company in Bangladesh and confirmed they are equipped to prepare the workers before their arrival in Malaysia,” he said.

He added that MACC is “unsure” how the supposed informant in Bangladesh had reached the conclusion that billions of dollars have been laundered to Malaysia, noting that the source had not received confirmation on the matter from Bank Negara Malaysia.

Azam was asked by Scoop to comment on Prothom Alo’s report which alleged that a network of syndicates linked to the Malaysian labour market had managed to launder BDT87.50 billion (RM3.08 billion) from fees collected from Bangladesh workers.

Scoop has requested responses from the Malaysian Human Resources Ministry and Home Ministry on the allegations in Prothom Alo’s report but they have yet to reply.

The report claimed that from the RM3.08 billion collected, about RM1.76 billion was allegedly obtained through a “syndicate fee” imposed on Malaysia-bound Bangladeshi workers, while another RM1.32 billion was secured “in the name of visa trade”.

The daily named the owners of two recruiting agencies involved in the syndicate as “Bangladeshi-born Malaysian citizen Aminul Islam Abdul Nor and his representative in Bangladesh, one Mohammad Ruhul Amin”.

Aminul Islam, known here as Datuk Seri Mohd Amin Abdul Nor, founded Bestinet.

He and Ruhul are said to be the two “controllers” of the syndicate, Prothom Alo reported.

The Dhaka newspaper said although the registration fee per Bangladesh worker was only RM100, labourers were allegedly charged RM3,768 for their names to be registered in the FWCMS.

Of the amount, RM246 was retained by a local collection agency while the remaining RM3,521 was “sent to Bestinet in Malaysia through illegal channels”, the daily claimed, adding that the FWCMS “only lists companies that are part of the syndicate”.

The daily also said two members of the supposed syndicate claimed that Aminul Islam “demands extra payment” under the pretext of bribing “various officials” in Malaysia.

Prothom Alo reported Ruhul’s previous denial on money laundering allegations when he spoke to the daily on June 20, asserting that “all approvals” were granted by the governments of Malaysia and Bangladesh.

Ruhul was quoted as saying there is “no connection” between the Malaysian Bestinet and Bangladeshi Bestinet, and that that Aminul Islam had left the partnership due to a “lack of business prospects” in Bangladesh.

Bestinet Bangladesh Ltd was registered there on March 24, 2014, with Aminul Islam as chairman and Ruhul as managing director, according to records from Bangladesh’s Joint Stock Companies and Firms which Prothom Alo cited.

Aminul Islam transferred all of his 12,000 shares in the company to Ruhul in 2019, following which the company was rebranded to Catharsis Solutions Ltd three years later, the daily said.

The Dhaka paper also quoted a managing director of recruiting agency United Export Ltd, SM Rafique, who told the daily in May that every agency involved in the alleged migrant worker scheme was required to deposit the RM3,768 per labourer with the Catharsis office.

Aminul Islam, also known as Amin Bangla in Malaysia, was questioned by MACC in 2022 during the anti-graft agency’s raid on Bestinet Sdn Bhd.

A MACC officer who testified before the Public Accounts Committee earlier this year said Bestinet was still being investigated by the graft busters as of January.

In June this year, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail confirmed that the cabinet had decided to extend Bestinet’s contract with the Home Ministry to develop, supply, provide and maintain the FWCMS following the expiration of its six-year contract on May 31.

Subsequently, PAC chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin in July said the committee would scrutinise the extension of the contract, noting it had not previously summoned Bestinet founder Aminul Islam as he is understood to no longer be with the company.

In August, it was reported that the Malaysian government is under scrutiny by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in its investigation into a labour market syndicate that allegedly saw authorities fraudulently pocketing monies in a migrant worker scam. – September 20, 2024.

Source: MACC’s Bestinet probe is ‘NFA’, no proof of other money-laundering claims: Azam Baki | Scoop