27 Bangladeshis held in Malaysia over alleged document forgery ring

Malaysian authorities have detained 27 Bangladeshis for their alleged involvement in a ring producing forged documents for foreign workers. Ten men and one woman among those detained are suspected of being the masterminds of the forgery operation.

They were detained on Monday (September 14) during simultaneous raids at 11 locations in the Jalan Chan Sow Lin commercial area of Kuala Lumpur under an operation dubbed “Ops Sercap.” Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail confirmed the arrests, according to local media outlet Malay Mail.

Saifuddin said authorities seized 18 laptops, 21 printers and scanners, three mobile phones and 10 Bangladeshi passports during the raids. A large quantity of forged Temporary Employment Visit Passes (PLKS) and fake police reports was also recovered.

Each forged employment pass was reportedly sold for 150 ringgit, while fake police reports were sold for 70 ringgit.

The minister said Malaysia’s Immigration Department was intensifying operations against syndicates involved in manipulating the foreign-worker management system and forging documents.

The major crackdown comes as discussions on reopening Malaysia’s labour market to Bangladeshi workers are gaining momentum. Malaysia suspended worker recruitment from Bangladesh in 2024 amid allegations of irregularities and labour exploitation.

As part of the recent process to reopen the market, Malaysia has listed another 312 Bangladeshi agencies as “Associate Recruiting Agencies.” Previously, only 25 recruiting agencies, including the government-run Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL), had been approved.

Allegations of syndicates and excessive charges in the recruitment and deployment of Bangladeshi workers have persisted for years. In July, the Bangladesh government cancelled the licences of 49 recruiting agencies based on information from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), following allegations that around Tk 4,500 crore had been misappropriated through excessive charges.